Melissa Gilbert's biological father 'knew' she was his daughter after watching Little House on the Prairie

Daily Mail​

10-07-2025

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
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.'