About Me
Melissa was adopted when she was only one day old and grew up in a show-biz family; her parents, Paul and Barbara Gilbert, were actors, and her grandfather created The Honeymooners. Though Melissa was raised in a household full of love, her parents divorced when she was eight. Shortly thereafter, her mother remarried.
When Melissa was 11, her father died suddenly. She claims this was one of those events "that really shaped and moulded [her] into the person [she is] now."
By the time she was two, Melissa was modelling baby clothes. By seven she was one of the leading commercial actresses of her time - along with the likes of Jodie Foster, Tracey Savage, and Kristy McNichol - with a string of more than 30 commercials for toys, toothpaste, and fast foods. By nine, her trademark pigtails, freckles, and infectious smile were her ticket to what would be her "big break."
Little House on the Prairie became the springboard from which Melissa reached for wider success. At the age of 14 she starred as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke, and went on from there to star in several more television movies, including The Diary of Anne Frank, Splendor in the Grass, Family Secrets, and Choices of the Heart. While success continued to come to her in her professional life, her personal life was a much different story.
In her teens her social life revolved around members of the infamous 'Brat Pack', with the likes of Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, and Rob Lowe, with whom she shared a turbulent, much publicized, six-year romance. After her breakup with Lowe, she met and married director Bo Brinkman and had a son, Dakota, but they would divorce after only a few years.
She was introduced to her current husband, Bruce Boxleitner, and the couple are happy, stable, and secure, with another son, Michael.
In national voting completed in November 2001, Melissa Gilbert was elected Screen Actors Guild President.
Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
CREDITS:
"Nip/Tuck" (2006) TV Episode .... Shari Noble
"7th Heaven" ... aka 7th Heaven: Beginnings
Honor Thy Mother (2005) TV Episode .... Marie Wagner
Thicker Than Water (2005) (TV) .... Natalie Jones
Heart of the Storm (2004) .... Cassie Broadbeck
Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (2004) (TV)
Then Came Jones (2003) (TV)
Sanctuary (2001) (TV) .... Jo Ellen Hathaway
Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle, A (2000) (TV) .... Donielle
Switched at Birth (1999) (TV) .... Sarah
Soul Collector, The (1999/I) (TV) .... Rebecca
Murder at 75 Birch (1999) (TV) .... Gwen Todson
Her Own Rules (1998) (TV) .... Meredith Sanders
Childhood Sweetheart? (1997) (TV) .... Karen Carlson
Seduction in a Small Town (1997) (TV) .... Sarah Jenks
Christmas in My Hometown (1996) (TV) .... Emma Murphy
Zoya (1995) (TV) .... Zoya
With Hostile Intent (1995) (TV) .... Miranda Berkley
Cries from the Heart (1994) (TV) .... Karen
Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story (1994) (TV) .... Melissa Prentice
"Sweet Justice" (1994) TV Series .... Kate Delacroy
Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story, The (1994) (TV) .... Mary Bennett
Dying to Remember (1993) (TV) .... Lynn Matthews
House of Secrets (1993) (TV) .... Marion Ravinel
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story (1993) (TV) .... Shari Karney
Family of Strangers (1993) (TV) .... Julie
With a Vengeance (1992) (TV) (as Melissa Gilbert Brinkman) .... Janet King/Vanessa
"Batman: The Animated Series" (1992) TV Series (voice) .... Barbara Gordon/Batgirl
"Stand by Your Man" (1992) TV Series .... Rochelle Dunphy
Michael Landon: Memories with Laughter and Love (1991) (V) .... Host
Lookalike, The (1990) (TV) .... Gina/Jennifer
Donor (1990) (TV) (as Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman) .... Dr. Kristine Lipton
Joshua's Heart (1990) (TV) .... Claudia
Forbidden Nights (1990) (TV) .... Judith Shapiro
Without Her Consent (1990) (TV) .... Emily Briggs
Ice House (1989) .... Kay
Chameleons (1989) (TV)
Killer Instinct (1988) (TV) .... Dr. Lisa DaVito
Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife (1987) (TV) .... Marian
Penalty Phase (1986) (TV) .... Leah Furman
Choices (1986) (TV) .... Terry Granger
Sylvester (1985) .... Charlie
Little House: Bless All the Dear Children (1984) (TV) .... Laura Ingalls Wilder
Family Secrets (1984) (TV) .... Sara Calloway
Little House: The Last Farewell (1984) (TV) .... Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House: Look Back to Yesterday (1983) (TV) .... Laura Ingalls Wilder
Choices of the Heart (1983) (TV) .... Jean Donovan
"Faerie Tale Theatre" (1982) TV Series .... Gerda (The Snow Queen)
Splendor in the Grass (1981) (TV) .... Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis
Diary of Anne Frank, The (1980) (TV) .... Anne Frank
Little House Years (1979) (TV) .... Laura Ingalls
Miracle Worker, The (1979) (TV) .... Helen Keller
Nutcracker Fantasy (1979) (voice) .... Clara
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. (1977) (TV) .... Kelly Sullivan
"Little House on the Prairie" (1974) TV Series .... Laura Elizabeth Ingalls-Wilder
Little House on the Prairie (1974) (TV) .... Laura Ingalls Biography
External links
Adoption:
http://famous.adoption.com/famous/gilbert-melissa-ellen.html
http://waynewarner.com/adoption8.html
Michael Landon Children’s Cancer Fund
C/O John W. Welty
1515 North Campbell Ave., P.O. Box 245013
Tucson, AZ 85724-5013
http://childrenshospice.org/
