There are miracles that happen in the most spontaneous way. Melissa Gilbert (61), the unforgettable Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, was the latest famous guest on Patrick Labyorteaux's (59) podcast, who played Andy Garvey in the well-known 70s series created by Michael Landon. Both have been friends since then and among the many things they share is that they are both adopted.
During the conversation, the renowned actress explained that when her first child was born, Dakota Paul (36), she was surprised to see someone who physically resembled her so much and that there would probably be someone else with the same features. This motivated Gilbert to search for her biological parents. She made this decision after consulting with her adoptive parents, actor and comedian Paul Gilbert -who passed away in 1976- and actress and producer Barbara Crane (89).
She told her story in a casual and drama-free way. Her parents "were married to other people and each had three children. They ran away together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip through the desert. That explains a lot. Then they left their partners, got married after getting pregnant with me, and moved in with all the children, so I was the seventh. So they decided to put me up for adoption."
The conversation between Gilbert and Labyorteaux was highly entertaining. At one point, the actress shared how she met her biological father, David Darlington, when she was already an adult. Unfortunately, her mother had passed away a few years earlier. "I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me: 'Well, who are you? What do you do?'. And I said, 'Well, here's the thing. Have you ever seen Little House on the Prairie?'. And he said: 'You're Laura, right?'. He knew. He knew." It was a shock for her that her biological father let her know that he already knew she was his daughter because he saw certain traits in her while portraying Laura Ingalls.
After a brief conversation, Gilbert met her father's other children: "When I met my half-siblings, we all looked alike. So, it was definitely noticeable. It was quite evident," she said on the podcast.
No matter how much time passes, Melissa Gilbert always has wonderful words for actor Michael Landon, who played her TV father Charles Ingalls. During the series' 50th anniversary, the actress confessed that "Michael Landon was like a father figure to many of us, obviously, and a very important influence in my life. My father passed away when I was 11. And by then, I had been working with Michael for two years, and he really stepped in and cared for me in a much more paternal way."
Regarding her love life, Melissa has been married three times. The first to director and writer Bo Brinkman (68), father of her eldest son Dakota; the second was to actor Bruce Boxleitner (75), with whom she had her son Michael (29), and the third is actor and director Timothy Busfield (68), whom she married in 2013.