Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert is best known for her portrayal of Laura Ingalls in the original series, which she began in 1974 at just 9 years old.
The 62-year-old had already appeared on shows like Gunsmoke and Emergency! when the series began.
Also serving as the show's narrator, Gilbert remained on Little House on the Prairie for all nine seasons, until 1983.
During her time on the show, she also starred in several TV movies, including The Miracle Worker, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Splendor in the Grass.
She later reprised her role in the TV movies Little House Years, Little House: Look Back to Yesterday, Little House: The Final Farewell, and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children.
Gilbert continued acting after the series ended, appearing in dozens of TV movies. She also voiced Barbara Gordon on Batman: The Animated Series from 1992 to 1994.
She also made television appearances on shows including Touched by an Angel, Providence, 7th Heaven, and Nip/Tuck. Gilbert had a recurring role on Hallmark's When Calls the Heart, but recently revealed on Instagram that she would not be returning due to what she described as "budget issues."
The news came after her husband, Timothy Busfield, whom she married in 2013, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse in January. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury in February on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
Busfield has denied the charges, and Gilbert has continued to support him, telling ABC in April that he is the "last person in the world who would hurt a child."
"I trust him with my children's lives, with my grandchildren's lives, my nieces and nephews," she added. "He is an honorable, caring, generous human being."
Gilbert has also defended the new Little House reboot after fans debated on social media whether the new version or the original series was more historically accurate and faithful to the books.
"The short answer is no, neither are entirely accurate to the times nor the books," she wrote in a Substack essay.
After giving several examples of historical inaccuracies, she wrote, "My hope is that folks realize that these are all perfect examples of dramatic license. Even the real Laura took dramatic license in writing her books. For example, in the book, 'Little House on the Prairie,' all three Ingalls girls are older than they were in real life."
She added, "So rather than getting all twisted up in what's real and what's dramatized, maybe just sit back and go for the ride the creative minds behind these shows want to take you on. If you like it, stick with it. If you don't, you don't have to watch."
