Melissa Gilbert had to ‘leave’ Hollywood after her childhood stardom.
The 60-year-old actress starred in the Western series Little House on the Prairie as a child and continued working through the 1980s and 1990s.
But eventually she had to leave Los Angeles because of the “pressure” she had been dealing with all those years.
“All the pressures, I’ve been through them all. Living in Los Angeles, it’s like living in a mall when you work in a mall,” she said People.
‘Everyone is literally in the business. You walk into a restaurant and every head turns to see who walked in.
“Everyone is always searching, curious, competing and that’s very difficult, especially for a female actor.”
Melissa Gilbert had to ‘get away’ from Hollywood after her childhood stardom. The 60-year-old actress starred in the western series Little House on the Prairie as a child and continued working throughout the 80s and 90s. But eventually had to leave Los Angeles because of the ‘pressure’ she had experienced over the years
A still from season three of Little House On The Prairie shows Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline Quiner Holbrook Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall and Lindsay Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls
She added that she was tired of dieting.
‘It puts a lot of pressure on staying slim and young and it makes it really hard to feel comfortable in your own skin because [of] “The aging process,” said the beauty.
So are you going to grow old comfortably and happily?
“Are you going to fight it, be unhealthy and feel like there’s something wrong with you because you’re getting older and that you’re defective because you’ve gotten older?
I had to get out of there [L.A.]because I felt like I wasn’t quite myself.’
The Diary of Anne Frank actress, who is now married to Timothy Busfield and has a 35-year-old son, Dakota, with her first husband Bo Brinkman, and 28-year-old Michael, with her second husband Bruce Boxleitner, eventually moved to Michigan and then to upstate New York.
She explained that all her worries immediately disappeared after she left the Californian city.
She said, “In the five years that I was in Michigan, all that stopped. … I stopped everything and just focused on being as physically and emotionally healthy as possible.
“And I think that shows, ‘Yes, I’m getting older, but it’s not a curse, it’s a blessing.'”
From 1974 to 1983, she appeared in the popular television series Little House On The Prairie, in which she appeared in over 200 episodes.
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie.
Gilbert lives on a 14-acre farm with her husband Timothy Busfield, pictured in January 2020 in New York City
The actress is also a model for the brand.
“Each piece is made in collaboration with our wonderful artisans and is unique and special, reflecting our vision and their hard work,” she said earlier this year.
‘From linens to ceramics, aprons to toys, there’s something to put a smile on your face. Have you checked it out yet? Then head over to Modern Prairie’s website now, because these limited edition treasures are flying off the shelves!’
In November, she launched an app for her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie, aimed at older women.
Together with retail and merchandising expert Nicole Haase, she founded Modern Prairie.
Seen far right with Melissa Sue Anderson, far left, and Lindsay Greenbush, center, on Little House On The Prairie
With co-star Mitch Vogel in the hit family show that is still popular thanks to streamers
“Retail has underestimated women our age, and our ability and desire to spend money,” Gilbert said. People.
“There was very little room for the aging woman. We were either marginalized as a distracted old lady or a grumpy old woman who you want to avoid. There’s clearly so much more to us than that.”
Modern Prairie to realize Gilbert’s vision as a “space where women can connect” also has an app launched.
“Women need to know that they are not alone,” Gilbert said of wanting to create community. “There is always someone who will help us through, who will walk ahead of us, who will walk behind us, who will hold us up when we need it.
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie
“Head over to Modern Prairie’s website because these limited edition treasures are flying off the shelves!” she shared
Gilbert played Laura Ingalls Wilder, also known as “Half Pint,” on the 1970s NBC series Little House On The Prairie, an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s bestselling Little House series.
Little House On The Prairie premiered with a pilot film in March 1974 and celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
“There are people who always assume I’m 12,” Gilbert said. “And I’ll always be that girl, full of wonder and running through the fields. Half Pint is always in me. But we all get older.”
The Modern Prairie brand offers clothing and home goods inspired by the Little House values of “love, community and family” and made by women-owned or women-run businesses.
Gilbert lives with her husband Busfield on a 14-acre farm.
“We just enjoy doing our silly chores together, like cleaning the chicken coop, making sure they have their treats and playing with the dogs,” Gilbert said.
“We play a lot of backgammon. We cook together. And really, we just like sitting next to each other in a room, wherever we are. We just really enjoy being together.”
Gilbert and Busfield have been married since 2013 and she thanked him for the support he gave her in embracing natural aging.
“And when I said, ‘I think I’m going to stop dyeing my hair,’ he said, ‘I can’t wait to see what color it is. This is so exciting!’ When I said, ‘I think I want to permanently remove my breast implants,’ he said, ‘Do it!'” Gilbert said. “It’s incredibly uplifting to be with someone who says, ‘I love you just the way you are.'”
Both Gilbert and Busfield had just gone through a second divorce from their ex-partners when they started dating.
After their marriage, Gilbert and Busfield moved to Howell, Michigan in August 2013, where they lived in a charming, restored Victorian home. They later moved to a picturesque 14-acre cottage in New York’s Catskill Mountains.