Latest news with #MelissaGilbert
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Melissa Gilbert Reveals the 1 Thing She Has ‘Zero Tolerance for' as a Woman ‘Over 60'
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Melissa Gilbert wrote a powerful message to women over 60 on Instagram. She shared what she has 'zero tolerance' for as she gets older. She encourages other people her age to do embody the sentiment, too. In a 'self-reflective' moment on Instagram, Melissa Gilbert recently shared a public service announcement for women over 60, and the message is one you might want to write down for when you need an inspiring pick-me-up. 'I don't know about you ladies, but now that I'm over 60, I simply have zero tolerance for those who want to cajole, control, or manipulate me,' the 61-year-old wrote. 'Zero tolerance for being condescended to, or pandered to, flattered, and treated like I'm stupid.' She continued, adding that she has 'zero tolerance for disrespect,' and neither should other women her age. 'I've earned every single opinion I have,' she wrote. 'I have had a wildly multifaceted career and life. I have learned so very much, and I will no longer allow anyone to discount me.' She went on to stress that 'women [her] age are of tremendous value to the world,' which is only heightened by awareness of self-worth. She wants her peers to understand: 'You are worthy, wise, important, and remarkable,' she said. 'Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise.' Such a powerful epiphany is helping the Modern Prairie founder continue to embrace her strengths and her experience 'as an accomplished woman,' she explained. 'This realization has been not only liberating but has given me a whole new inspiration of what I want this last third of my life to be,' she concluded. Many of Gilbert's friends and followers chimed in to support her message and encourage one another. 'Yup. That about says it all,' Paulina Porizkova commented. 'I'm just beginning my early 50s, but I feel a freedom growing in me for sure!' another added. 'I love this so much. I needed to read this and be reminded of this,' someone else wrote. This musing from Gilbert falls in line with what she's said in the past, in interviews and online. She's passionate about aging powerfully—a sentiment that came from her personal evolution out of Hollywood and into her authentic self. 'I went from, 'Oh God, I better not get older!' to 'Oh God, I'm so glad I'm older!'' she told Page Six in February. 'I love the age I am right now. 60 has been the most incredible year, just to look back on all the things I've done and to know that I've earned my opinions, I have value, I am wise.' You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50 Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Melissa Gilbert reveals moment her birth father ‘knew' she was his child
After Melissa Gilbert's biological father saw her on television, he knew that the young actress was his child. The former child star, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in 'Little House on the Prairie,' recently appeared on her co-star Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast, 'The Patrick LabyorSheaux.' She described what it was like getting in contact with her birth father after she welcomed her son Dakota in 1989. 'I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, 'Well, who are you? What do you do?'' Gilbert recalled. 'And I said, 'Well, here's the thing… Did you ever watch 'Little House on the Prairie?' And he said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it.' 'He could see,' the 61-year-old shared. 'And when I met my half-siblings, we all looked alike. So you could definitely see it… It's pretty clear.' Labyorteaux, who was also adopted, said he had a similar experience. Like Gilbert, his birth mother died before he was able to find her. 'I never met her, but I met her family, who was a stepfamily,' the actor explained. 'She had three kids that she had inherited from the husband that she married. So, she had three kids, but they weren't her biological kids. She only had one biological kid… They would watch 'Little House' and when I would show up… because of my eyes, they would go, 'Oh, that's probably your kid.' And they would make fun of her like that… They were right.' 6 'Little House on the Prairie' actress Melissa Gilbert said her biological father saw her on television and knew she was his child. Getty Images for BAM 6 'He said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it,' Gilbert said about her dad. Courtesy Everett Collection Gilbert was adopted by actors Barbara Cowan and Paul Gilbert. Her biological parents were also in entertainment. According to the star, her birth mother was an exotic dancer and her father was a stock car racer and musician. 6 Melissa Gilbert in 'Little House on the Prairie' in 1974. Courtesy Everett Collection 'It was pretty clear that it was in me,' said Gilbert on pursuing showbiz. '… All the kids are performers on both sides of that family. So it was genetic and environmental.' 'They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert,' she said. 'Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So, the decision was made to put me up for adoption.' As Gilbert got older, she yearned to discover her roots. 6 'I realized there's got to be more,' the actress said about connecting to her roots after giving birth to her son. GC Images 'When I saw [my son Dakota] for the first time, I went, 'Oh my God, he had my eyebrows, and he had my lips, and I've never seen anyone that looked like me,'' said Gilbert. 'And then I realized there's got to be more.' Her family background wasn't the only thing that Gilbert faced after 'Little House' came to an end. In the podcast, she described how, as an adult, many fans still expected her to be Laura Ingalls. 'It was weird,' Gilbert admitted. 'I think people still, almost into my 40s, always kind of half expected a 12-year-old to come in with a fishing pole [and in] gingham. And that, at that time, to me, felt like a weakness.' Gilbert said it was a 'shock factor' when people realized that she was 'a full-grown adult with opinions and ideas that are smart and work.' For her, it was important to have an identity outside of Hollywood. 6 'I think people still, almost into my 40s, always kind of half expected a 12-year-old to come in with a fishing pole [and in] gingham,' Gilbert said about people wanting her to be Laura Ingalls. Courtesy Everett Collection '[As child actors] we either grow up super sheltered and don't know how to do things like wash dishes, or [be] super overexposed and exploited,' she said. Gilbert added that the second group are the ones that end up struggling with 'the big problems.' Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters So at age 22, she moved to New York City to appear in an Off-Broadway play. 'There I was at 22, living on my own with my cat and my dog in New York City, and completely unprepared to live on my own entirely. Completely,' she said. '… I had to figure out how to do so much stuff that I had no clue about,' she shared. 'Like, I didn't realize that you could break a $100 bill at a bodega, and you didn't have to go to a bank. It's little things like that… At one point, [I] let the dishes pile up in my sink so bad, and I didn't have a dishwasher, so I threw them out and bought new dishes. On my $700 a week salary at that point.' Still, Gilbert had fond memories of growing up on the set of 'Little House.' 'Our set was as kid-friendly as a set could be at that time,' she said. 'Even with all the adult shenanigans going on, we were sort of protected from a lot of that. I didn't know half the stuff that the grown-ups were doing until they started writing books about it.' Back in 2024, Gilbert told Fox News Digital she had to eventually leave Los Angeles to age gracefully. 6 'Our set was as kid-friendly as a set could be at that time,' Gilbert said about her time on 'Little House.' Courtesy Everett Collection 'I looked at myself in the mirror several years back,' the 61-year-old recalled at the time. 'I was living in Los Angeles, and I did not recognize who I was. I had overfilled my face and my lips. My forehead didn't move. I was still dyeing my hair red. I was driving a Mustang convertible. I was a size two in an unhealthy way. I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that's not who I was.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'I was stuck,' Gilbert admitted. 'I could feel myself fighting it. And I said to myself, 'It's time to age.' I had to leave Los Angeles to do that – not Hollywood – Los Angeles specifically.' Gilbert said she and her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, moved to his home state of Michigan following their wedding in 2013. They lived there for five years. She felt free to finally age. 'I stopped coloring my hair,' she explained. 'I had [my] breast implants removed. I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself without this pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way.' 'I finally found my feet as a woman, fully, 100 percent strong in my own knowledge, in my own accomplishments. Everything got easier. And a bonus? I have a lot more free time not staring in a mirror, sitting in a dermatologist's chair, or sitting in a hair chair.' In 2019, Gilbert and Busfield purchased a rustic cottage on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains. Life today is 'incredibly fulfilling,' she said. 'It's remarkable,' Gilbert gushed. 'I love being this age. There are things about it that are not a lot of fun. I don't like it when my ankles ache in the morning or my skin's drier. Aging is not for sissies, but it is certainly better than the alternative. And I've never felt better in my skin.'
Fox News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
‘Little House on the Prairie' star Melissa Gilbert says her birth father knew her identity after watching show
After Melissa Gilbert's biological father saw her on television, he knew that the young actress was his child. The former child star, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in "Little House on the Prairie," recently appeared on her co-star Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast, "The Patrick LabyorSheaux." She described what it was like getting in contact with her birth father after she welcomed her son Dakota in 1989. "I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, 'Well, who are you? What do you do?'" Gilbert recalled. "And I said, 'Well, here's the thing… Did you ever watch 'Little House on the Prairie?' And he said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it." "He could see," the 61-year-old shared. "And when I met my half-siblings, we all looked alike. So you could definitely see it… It's pretty clear." Labyorteaux, who was also adopted, said he had a similar experience. Like Gilbert, his birth mother died before he was able to find her. "I never met her, but I met her family, who was a stepfamily," the actor explained. "She had three kids that she had inherited from the husband that she married. So, she had three kids, but they weren't her biological kids. She only had one biological kid… They would watch 'Little House' and when I would show up… because of my eyes, they would go, 'Oh, that's probably your kid.' And they would make fun of her like that… They were right." Gilbert was adopted by actors Barbara Cowan and Paul Gilbert. Her biological parents were also in entertainment. According to the star, her birth mother was an exotic dancer and her father was a stock car racer and musician. "It was pretty clear that it was in me," said Gilbert on pursuing showbiz. "… All the kids are performers on both sides of that family. So it was genetic and environmental." "They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert," she said. "Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So, the decision was made to put me up for adoption." As Gilbert got older, she yearned to discover her roots. "When I saw [my son Dakota] for the first time, I went, 'Oh my God, he had my eyebrows, and he had my lips, and I've never seen anyone that looked like me,'" said Gilbert. "And then I realized there's got to be more." Her family background wasn't the only thing that Gilbert faced after "Little House" came to an end. In the podcast, she described how, as an adult, many fans still expected her to be Laura Ingalls. "It was weird," Gilbert admitted. "I think people still, almost into my 40s, always kind of half expected a 12-year-old to come in with a fishing pole [and in] gingham. And that, at that time, to me, felt like a weakness." Gilbert said it was a "shock factor" when people realized that she was "a full-grown adult with opinions and ideas that are smart and work." For her, it was important to have an identity outside of Hollywood. "[As child actors] we either grow up super sheltered and don't know how to do things like wash dishes, or [be] super overexposed and exploited," she said. Gilbert added that the second group are the ones that end up struggling with "the big problems." WATCH: 'LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE' CHILD STAR SAYS SET WAS LIKE 'MAD MEN' So at age 22, she moved to New York City to appear in an Off-Broadway play. "There I was at 22, living on my own with my cat and my dog in New York City, and completely unprepared to live on my own entirely. Completely," she said. "… I had to figure out how to do so much stuff that I had no clue about," she shared. "Like, I didn't realize that you could break a $100 bill at a bodega, and you didn't have to go to a bank. It's little things like that… At one point, [I] let the dishes pile up in my sink so bad, and I didn't have a dishwasher, so I threw them out and bought new dishes. On my $700 a week salary at that point." Still, Gilbert had fond memories of growing up on the set of "Little House." "Our set was as kid-friendly as a set could be at that time," she said. "Even with all the adult shenanigans going on, we were sort of protected from a lot of that. I didn't know half the stuff that the grown-ups were doing until they started writing books about it." Back in 2024, Gilbert told Fox News Digital she had to eventually leave Los Angeles to age gracefully. "I looked at myself in the mirror several years back," the 61-year-old recalled at the time. "I was living in Los Angeles, and I did not recognize who I was. I had overfilled my face and my lips. My forehead didn't move. I was still dyeing my hair red. I was driving a Mustang convertible. I was a size two in an unhealthy way. I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that's not who I was." "I was stuck," Gilbert admitted. "I could feel myself fighting it. And I said to myself, 'It's time to age.' I had to leave Los Angeles to do that – not Hollywood – Los Angeles specifically." Gilbert said she and her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, moved to his home state of Michigan following their wedding in 2013. They lived there for five years. She felt free to finally age. "I stopped coloring my hair," she explained. "I had [my] breast implants removed. I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself without this pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way." "I finally found my feet as a woman, fully, 100 percent strong in my own knowledge, in my own accomplishments. Everything got easier. And a bonus? I have a lot more free time not staring in a mirror, sitting in a dermatologist's chair, or sitting in a hair chair." In 2019, Gilbert and Busfield purchased a rustic cottage on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains. Life today is "incredibly fulfilling," she said. "It's remarkable," Gilbert gushed. "I love being this age. There are things about it that are not a lot of fun. I don't like it when my ankles ache in the morning or my skin's drier. Aging is not for sissies, but it is certainly better than the alternative. And I've never felt better in my skin."
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Little House On The Prairie star's birth parent recognized her on show
Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert has revealed how her biological father 'knew' she was his daughter from watching her onscreen. The actress, 61, who was adopted after birth, discussed the journey of finding her biological parents on an episode of Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast on Tuesday. As an adult, Melissa found her birth father -who was a stock car racer and musician - and called him to share the news, only to find he already knew. 'I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, "Well, who are you? What do you do?"' Melissa, who was raised by her adoptive parents, actors Barbara Cowan and the late Paul Gilbert, said. 'And I said, "Well, here's the thing." And I said, "Did you ever watch Little House On The Prairie?" And he said, '"You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it." He knew it,' she added. 'He could see,' she said of her character on the show, Laura Ingalls. 'And when I met my half siblings, we all look alike. So, you could definitely see it. So, it's pretty clear.' Melissa also discussed her birth mother Kathy, who passed away before she got to reconnect with her, sharing that she was a former exotic dancer. Given her biological parents' background in entertainment, and her adoptive parents' acting backgrounds, Gilbert noted, 'It was pretty clear that it was in me'. When she began 'searching' for her birth parents, Melissa learned about their past. 'They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert,' she revealed. 'Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So the decision was made to put me up for adoption.' Melisa also spoke about her two kids: Dakota, whom she shares with her first husband, director Bo Brinkman, and another son, Michael, born in 1995, whom she shares with her second husband, actor Bruce Boxleitner. She noted how they also shared her physical features: 'When I saw [son Dakota] for the first time, I went, "Oh my god,"' Melissa said of her first child, who was born in 1989. 'He had my eyebrows and he had my lips, and I'd never seen anyone that looked like me. And then I realized there's got to be more.' Last year she paid tribute to her both her adoptive mom Barbara and biological mom Kathy in a touching Mother's Day post. She shared a snap of herself with Barbara, as well as another photo of her birth mom holding a rifle. 'Happiest of Mothers Days to these two. The one with the rifle? I grew under her heart. The one beside me? I grew IN her heart.' 'This is my birth mother Kathy, who had the courage to love me enough to let me go. The stunning blonde is my mama @ is just a magic person. And lucky me, I get to spend today with her.' 'Sending all mothers, stepmothers, God mothers, birth mothers, surrogate mothers, adoptive mothers and anyone who steps in to be a mother to a child who doesn't have one. I honor you all today,' she wrote. In 2022, Melissa opened up about losing her adoptive father Paul to suicide when she was a child, saying she didn't learn he had killed himself until she was 45. She called him 'the most incredibly talented, vivacious, funny, loving, fair person I ever knew.' Melissa was adopted by Paul and his wife, actress Barbara, one day after her birth. The couple had been divorced for three years when he died in February 1976. Like many people at the time, she and her adopted brother, Jonathan Gilbert, were told he died of a stroke in his sleep. 'I didn't know my father had died by suicide for a very, very long time,' she explained. 'I didn't find out till I was 45.' Melissa revealed her family's secret in her autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir, which was published in 2009. Melissa portrayed Laura, aka 'Half Pint', on the popular TV show Little House On The Prairie from 1974 until 1983, appearing in over 200 episodes. Little House On The Prairie premiered with a pilot movie in March 1974 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. She then continued to work throughout the 1980s and 1990s. But eventually had to leave Los Angeles because of the 'pressures' she had faced over the years. 'All of the pressures, I faced all of them. When you live in Los Angeles, it's like living at the mall when you work at the mall,' she told People. 'Literally, everyone is in the business. When you walk into a restaurant, every head turns to see who walked in. 'Everybody's always looking, curious, competing and that's a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor.'
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Adopted at birth Melissa Gilbert reveals astonishing moment she reconnected with biological father
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert revealed how her biological father 'knew' she was his daughter from watching her onscreen. The actress, 61, who was adopted after birth, discussed the journey of finding her biological parents on an episode of Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast on Tuesday. As an adult, she found her birth father — who was a stock car racer and musician — and called him to share the news, only to find he already knew. 'I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, "Well, who are you? What do you do?"' Gilbert, who was raised by her adoptive parents, actors Barbara Cowan and the late Paul Gilbert, said. 'And I said, "Well, here's the thing." And I said, "Did you ever watch Little House on the Prairie?" And he said, '"You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it." He knew it,' she added. 'He could see,' she said of her character on the show, Laura Ingalls. 'And when I met my half siblings, we all look alike. So, you could definitely see it. So, it's pretty clear.' Gilbert also discussed her birth mother Kathy, who passed away before she got to reconnect with her, sharing that she was a former exotic dancer. Given her biological parents' background in entertainment, and her adoptive parents' acting backgrounds, Gilbert noted, 'It was pretty clear that it was in me.' When she began 'searching' for her birth parents, Gilbert learned about their past. 'They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert,' she revealed. 'Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So the decision was made to put me up for adoption.' Gilbert also spoke about her two kids: Dakota, whom she shares with her first husband, director Bo Brinkman, and another son, Michael, born in 1995, whom she shares with her second husband, actor Bruce Boxleitner. She noted how they also shared her physical features: 'When I saw [son Dakota] for the first time, I went, "Oh my god,"' Gilbert said of her first child, who was born in 1989. 'He had my eyebrows and he had my lips, and I'd never seen anyone that looked like me. And then I realized there's got to be more.' 'I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, "Well, who are you? What do you do?"' Gilbert said; Pictured in 2023 'And I said, "Did you ever watch Little House on the Prairie?" And he said, '"You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it." He knew it,' she added. 'He could see,' she said of her character on the show Last year she paid tribute to her both her adoptive mom Barbara and biological mom Kathy in a touching Mother's Day post. She shared a snap of herself with Barbara, as well as another photo of her birth mom holding a rifle. 'Happiest of Mothers Days to these two. The one with the rifle? I grew under her heart. The one beside me? I grew IN her heart.' 'This is my birth mother Kathy, who had the courage to love me enough to let me go. The stunning blonde is my mama @barbaragilbertcowan .She is just a magic person. And lucky me, I get to spend today with her.' 'Sending all mothers, stepmothers, God mothers, birth mothers, surrogate mothers, adoptive mothers and anyone who steps in to be a mother to a child who doesn't have one. I honor you all today,' she wrote. In 2022, Melissa opened up about losing her adoptive father Paul to suicide when she was a child, saying she didn't learn he had killed himself until she was 45. She called him 'the most incredibly talented, vivacious, funny, loving, fair person I ever knew.' Gilbert was adopted by Paul and his wife, actress Barbara, one day after her birth. The couple had been divorced for three years when he died in February 1976. Like many people at the time, she and her adopted brother, Jonathan Gilbert, were told he died of a stroke in his sleep. 'I didn't know my father had died by suicide for a very, very long time,' she explained. 'I didn't find out till I was 45.' Gilbert revealed her family's secret in her autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir, which was published in 2009. Melissa portrayed Laura, aka 'Half Pint', on the popular TV show Little House On The Prairie from 1974 until 1983, appearing in over 200 episodes. Little House On The Prairie premiered with a pilot movie in March 1974 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. She then continued to work throughout the 1980s and 1990s. But eventually had to leave Los Angeles because of the 'pressures' she had faced over the years. 'All of the pressures, I faced all of them. When you live in Los Angeles, it's like living at the mall when you work at the mall,' she told People. 'Literally, everyone is in the business. When you walk into a restaurant, every head turns to see who walked in. 'Everybody's always looking, curious, competing and that's a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor.'
