By India McCarty
Melissa Gilbert just revealed a shocking LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE connection in her own life.
“I was today years old when I found out my birth father, David Darlington’s middle name was ….. MANLY!” she posted on Instagram.
“Manly” was the nickname of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s husband, Almanzo Wilder.
“Thank you to my fifth cousin, @harleesco for being such a stalwart researcher. I also learned that my birth mother, Frances Catherineanne Wood (Cathy), was born on April 26, 1935. My mother, Barbara Gilbert-Cowan was born on April 26, 1936!!!!!!” the actress wrote.
Related: Melissa Gilbert Reveals the ‘Dirty’ Way She Landed LITTLE HOUSE Role
Gilbert was put up for adoption shortly after her birth. The actress has been open about being adopted, as well as her journey to find her birth parents. Her birth mother died before they could meet, but Gilbert did get in touch with Darlington.
“I didn’t tell him who I was, and then he asked me, ‘Well, who are you? What do you do?’” she shared in a 2025 interview. “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 continued, “He could see. And when I met my half siblings, we all look alike. So, you could definitely see it. So, it’s pretty clear.”
Gilbert played Laura on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE for over 200 episodes from 1974 to 1983. She even earned a Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actress in a television drama for her work on the show.
“The thing that moves me the most is when people tell me the stories of how LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE impacted their lives, what their childhoods were like, and why it was so important to them,” she told USA Today in 2024. “A lot of people have said — and I’m sure will continue to say to me — ‘Look, you were my escape from a bad childhood.’ …We taught a lot of lessons and provided a lot of escapist entertainment.”
That legacy is continuing with Netflix’s upcoming reboot of the beloved series, which Gilbert has expressed excitement for.
“There’s room in the LITTLE HOUSE universe for all different kinds of stories to be told,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “[The original] was Michael Landon’s interpretation, and now it’s time for someone else’s interpretation.”
On screen and off, Gilbert has a strong connection to her LITTLE HOUSE character.
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