Melissa Ellen Gilbert and Adoption

Biography

Melissa Gilbert was adopted as a new-born baby by a well-known Hollywood family. Her parents were actors and her grandfather was a television writer. Her parents divorced when she was eight and her adoptive father died when she was 11

became one of the principal actors, playing Laura Ingalls, in the long-running television series Little House on the Prairie, whose male lead, Michael Landon, became a surrogate father-figure to her. She has a large number of other acting credits to her name.

The family also includes an adopted brother, Jonathan, now a New York stockbroker, who as a child also acted in Little House on the Prairie, playing the part of Willie Oleson; he also later acted with Melissa in The Miracle Worker. Their half-sister, Sara, who played Darlene in the sitcom Roseanne, is not adopted.

References

Lifetime Entertainment Services. "More About Melissa Gilbert's Personal Life." [Includes portrait]. Available at: [1] Jenkins, Shannon. "The Unofficial Melissa Gilbert Homepage." [Includes portraits]. Available at: [2] Krijgsman, P.D. "About Sara: The Unofficial Sara Gilbert Fan Page." [Includes portraits]. Available at: [3] Slegg, Jennifer. "Jonathan Gilbert." Available at: [4]