Melissa Gilbert: "I can't move my forehead, and that's not okay" (2024)

Melissa Gilbert is opening up about the “midlife crisis” she experienced after the end of her marriage to Bruce Boxleitner.

In her new memoir, Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered, the Little House on the Prairie star wrote about the end of her marriage to the Babylon 5 actor in 2011. She shared that following the split, she made physical changes in order to feel better about herself.

“I had Botox, fillers, recolored my hair, and bought a Mustang convertible at the urging of the inappropriately young French dude I began dating,” Gilbert, 58, wrote in the memoir.

That reaction, noted the former Screen Actors Guild president, was about attempting to recapture the “freedom” she felt in her youth. She wrote, “I reacted as many women I encountered did: I attempted to freeze everything in place.”

She added that the experience of “being a single woman in your forties in Los Angeles is a whole different league of pressure.”

“And being an actress looking for work in an industry obsessed with youth ratchets that up even further,” she noted.

It wasn’t until she met her now-husband, Thirtysomething actor Tim Busfield, and moved out of Los Angeles to Michigan after their marriage in 2013, that she stopped focusing so much on what she looked like.

“I can’t move my forehead — and that’s not okay,” she explained. “I have a feeling that I’m going to want to move it more in the future. I’d like to go someplace where that’s possible.”

Gilbert, who now lives in Upstate New York with Busfield, also spoke to Good Morning America this week about making the decision to leave Los Angeles behind — and with it, its challenging beauty standards.

"I had to get out of Los Angeles to actually age, which I wanted to do," she said. "I'm excited about this. I love all these changes and watching what's happening and getting to know this new person."

She shared with People that she has since reevaluated her outlook on her appearance.

​​“My mindset was, ‘You have to stay thin. You have to be seen in the right places, wear the right shoes and drive the right car,'” she noted. “That was so drilled into me by all the outside forces. But it never sat right.”

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by Anonymousreply 148May 20, 2022 2:31 PM

No mention of the plastic surgery she's had, starting with a nose job in her teens?

Why do women feel free to cop to fillers and Botox but not surgery? I don't get it.

by Anonymousreply 1May 11, 2022 1:18 PM

Bitch, please!

by Anonymousreply 2May 11, 2022 1:20 PM

Melissa Gilbert was NEVER good looking, not even attractive.

by Anonymousreply 3May 11, 2022 1:21 PM

She needs to stop worrying about her forehead and start looking into better wigs than that coiffed broom she stuck on her head.

Not OK to look like a frozen broomstick!

by Anonymousreply 4May 11, 2022 1:22 PM

Oh halfpint.

by Anonymousreply 5May 11, 2022 1:25 PM

She’s always been open about the nose job and how it didn’t turn out well.

by Anonymousreply 6May 11, 2022 1:26 PM

Is this why she beat her kids with the shit bra?

by Anonymousreply 7May 11, 2022 1:29 PM

[quote] Melissa Gilbert was NEVER good looking, not even attractive.

Tee hee.

Without the plastic surgery, she would basically look like her sister Sara Gilbert.

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by Anonymousreply 8May 11, 2022 1:31 PM

I think Melissa and Sara were both cute when young.

But that was awhile ago.

by Anonymousreply 9May 11, 2022 1:32 PM

She is owning up to more than most women do in the public eye. The Kartrashians act like we are all morons who cannot tell that they have had a shitton of cosmetic Frankenstienery done to them.

by Anonymousreply 10May 11, 2022 1:32 PM

Here's a photo of them when they were younger, R9.

Melissa was always the prettier sister.

Ironically, Sara became the more famous sister.

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by Anonymousreply 11May 11, 2022 1:35 PM

Lol @Melissa in R11's pic; she's giving Nancy "Cocksucker" Davis Reagan looks.

by Anonymousreply 12May 11, 2022 1:37 PM

Melissa seems settled and happy these days, at least going by her Instagram. She has grandchildren now and revels in her "Nana" role. Remember that French cad she was mixed up with before marrying Busfield?

by Anonymousreply 13May 11, 2022 1:38 PM

You know, good for her for recognizing there is more out there than LA.

by Anonymousreply 14May 11, 2022 1:38 PM

Sara has been one of the luckier people in showbiz, in my opinion.

by Anonymousreply 15May 11, 2022 1:40 PM

[quote] You know, good for her for recognizing there is more out there than LA.

I don't think she had a choice.

Poor thing wasn't getting any work.

Same for Busfield.

by Anonymousreply 16May 11, 2022 1:40 PM

I like her. She’s really frank and I like that in a person.

by Anonymousreply 17May 11, 2022 1:43 PM

I felt bad for her that ex-boyfriend Rob Lowe figured prominently in her autobiography but she was barely mentioned in passing in his, lumped in with other exes.

Ouch.

by Anonymousreply 18May 11, 2022 1:50 PM

IIRC, the Gilbert kids were all adopted, so it makes sense that they don't physically resemble each other.

by Anonymousreply 19May 11, 2022 1:52 PM

She’s gotta be pushing 60, no? She couldn’t come up with a better title? Had to go back to the LHOP well? I’m surprised she didn’t work Michael Landon’s name into the title.

by Anonymousreply 20May 11, 2022 1:55 PM

Any mentions in the book about Melissa Sue?

by Anonymousreply 21May 11, 2022 1:57 PM

She looks like NY’s current governor.

by Anonymousreply 22May 11, 2022 2:08 PM

This picture.

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by Anonymousreply 23May 11, 2022 2:11 PM

I can definitely see Gilbert and Busfield getting an HGTV show offer out of this.

by Anonymousreply 24May 11, 2022 2:14 PM

Call 911 Bitch, don’t come posting this here on DL for help!

by Anonymousreply 25May 11, 2022 2:17 PM

I for would would love to see Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson do What Ever Happened to Baby Jane in regional dinner theatres. And as an added bonus they switch off playing parts each night.

by Anonymousreply 26May 11, 2022 2:19 PM

There is an article about the house they bought in upstate NY in NY Times. The comments section is almost a ripoff of a DL thread. Everyone bashing the ugly ass house, decorating and style of Gilbert. And it is pretty awful - a la Michael Musto apartment, not sure why she would agree to let them write an article about it.

by Anonymousreply 27May 11, 2022 2:23 PM

Here's the article, R27.

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by Anonymousreply 28May 11, 2022 2:25 PM

And here's the house.

It really IS awful!!

Can't two successful actors buy a better home than this?

Maybe she can get a loan from her sister Sara.

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by Anonymousreply 29May 11, 2022 2:26 PM

And the living room.

Ack!

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by Anonymousreply 30May 11, 2022 2:27 PM

Wasn't Tim Busfield #metooed not too long ago?

by Anonymousreply 31May 11, 2022 2:27 PM

^^^ By Melissa?

by Anonymousreply 32May 11, 2022 2:32 PM

The shitty house and "Nailed It!" DIY decor make them MORE, not less, appealing for an HGTV franchise. People relate to Half-Pint and Elliott from thirtysomething having a sloppy house.

by Anonymousreply 33May 11, 2022 2:45 PM

They had a rather charming Victorian house when they lived in Michigan.

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by Anonymousreply 34May 11, 2022 2:47 PM

So I did a quick google search of Melissa's and Sara's respective net worth.

Melissa has a supposed net worth of $500,000. Five hundred thousand dollars!

Sara has a supposed net worth of $30,000,000. Thirty MILLION dollars.

Why doesn't Sara loan her sister some money for a better fucking house???

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by Anonymousreply 35May 11, 2022 2:48 PM

Why is she so hated on DL? Someone nutshell it for me so I don't have to read through threads about her.

by Anonymousreply 36May 11, 2022 2:51 PM

What is Busfield’s net worth?

by Anonymousreply 37May 11, 2022 2:56 PM

Wow, she has become frau.

by Anonymousreply 38May 11, 2022 2:56 PM

Her home is cozy with vintage pottery and comfortable couches.

by Anonymousreply 39May 11, 2022 2:59 PM

I would have skipped the book, the NYT feature on her dump of a home and the announcement of her latest move in life. Was this supposed to pre-empt a tabloid feature about the depths to which the couple has sunk? She doesn't have to tell the world that she's broke.

by Anonymousreply 40May 11, 2022 3:01 PM

She badly needs a make-under and to scrub that crap off her face.

by Anonymousreply 41May 11, 2022 3:03 PM

Why is she so hated on DL? Someone nutshell it for me so I don't have to read through threads about her.

She's pretty polarizing.

On one hand people here like her because they have fond memories of her as Half-Pint, and because she tells it like it is. A lot of Datalounge loves high-strung women with no filters.

On the other hand, she holds grudges forever, and is incredibly self-righteous. Her first memoir had pages of vitriol against Melissa Sue Anderson mostly for being cold and unfriendly to her when they were pre-teens, and she talked about it as if it had just happened yesterday. Then there's her hilarious self-serving account of confronting Rob Lowe about cheating on her with Natassja Kinski (memorably dramatized below by Mario Cantone).

There's something clearly quite off about Gilbert no matter how you slice it.

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by Anonymousreply 42May 11, 2022 3:07 PM

I have followed Melissa on Instagram, oddly fascinated, ever since she was seeing the French guy. You want to root for her. She seemed a little hapless and at a low point when she got with Busfield, but since marrying him seems to have fully embraced her cozy, domestic, indeed frau-y nature.

Sara is worth 30 million? She should thank Roseanne every day.

by Anonymousreply 43May 11, 2022 3:08 PM

Thank you R42.

by Anonymousreply 44May 11, 2022 3:08 PM

r36 her presidency could be described as conservative in all the wrong places and turning the guild into an utter pile of crap... but both were before that. And in all likelihood, if Rhoda had one, i tprobably would have been bankrupted.

as a ginger, she lacks a soul.

the alcohol and substance abuse years were interesting. And also reflects on this with her inability to take responsibility of her actions as there's always somone dude or dudette to blame. And, the partial truth, revisiing of truth, when a lot of her private life was oh so very public

r42 has it down, and then some.

by Anonymousreply 45May 11, 2022 3:09 PM

I don't think of Melissa Gilbert as particularly frauey (at least not in the Kate Gosselin, "iron-frau" sense). I think she has had messed-up, slavishly codependent relationships with dudes, like Rob Lowe, like Bo Brinkman (who she married and spawned with after knowing him for 6 weeks), and like Bruce Boxleitner (who reportedly didn't want another kid) IMHO, this sick need for male validation did not do her career any favors.

Somebody mentioned Sara Gilbert's $30mn net worth, another example of a child star who made a very lucrative transition to adult acting is Jodie Foster (net worth $100mn). They didn't get that coin by needing the lead to think they were pretty.

Also, she was SAG president for 4 years. Why couldn't she parlay that into some more lucrative production work, where her age and years of experience would be an asset instead of something to fight?

by Anonymousreply 46May 11, 2022 3:09 PM

Who is my most bitter enemy, the one person I hate most in the world? Melissa Gilbert! And who opens the door at Mark and Pam's house? That's right, Melissa Gilbert. It was like staring at evil itself. Bring my toast up to my bath and I'll tell you how I made Melissa cry.

by Anonymousreply 47May 11, 2022 3:15 PM

What's also weird is that Melissa had a production company when she was a teenager called Half-Pint Productions that made an absolute fortune making TV movies. I don't know where all that money went.

by Anonymousreply 48May 11, 2022 3:17 PM

r46 The campaign was vicious and dirty - go look it up. It created many divides and moved it over too far over in favor of the elite while gutting the bulk of it's social programs and failing to follow through with conessions. Some might also point to her as the queen or at least wayward princess of nepotism. She burned a lot of bridges or just fucked through too many people one way or another.

She had an over inflated sense of her worth and legacy. Which is common enough.. the lack of empathy crosses into the clinical.

same argument could be used for her sister. Which you kind of got this timeline cute (not attractive) kids with popular tv characters growing up in the public eye, teens humdrum starlet drama, young adults surprisingly didn't piss in the gutter more, adulthood raging cunts that perfected the stepford wives smile... both are notoriously vicious, cold and calcalculating. In Sara's case, it worked out being a little younger and the trends shifting as she got older -- her most awkward period was early adulthood. While Melissa seemed to desperate to be a part of the brat pack or these other groups, be recognized as one of the cool kids and otherwise trash her laura ingalls image as well as the many fans of it.. of course, always going back to it for the grift. rinse, cycle, repeat.

by Anonymousreply 49May 11, 2022 3:24 PM

during her reign (well, and the campaign leading up to it) created conflict with international guilds and quite a few people were blackballed because you know, hollywood is the center of the universe and ruled by the flavor of the day.

moneywise, her net worth is probably higher... but chances are she's pulling a homemaker tax shell here to reduce both of them being taxed at their worth.

by Anonymousreply 50May 11, 2022 3:36 PM

Which of the Melissas was supposedly a total cunt on the set of "Little House on the Prairie?" Or were they both?

by Anonymousreply 51May 11, 2022 3:42 PM

Why is everyone shitting on her? As far as money goes. Everyone can't be Kardashian wealthy. Maybe Melissa is content in her life.

by Anonymousreply 52May 11, 2022 3:46 PM

Did Michael Landon molest her, or wet her bed?

by Anonymousreply 53May 11, 2022 4:10 PM

That's interesting R48. I had no idea she had a production company.

I agree, something is off if she had that, plus she was SAG President, and came out of it with nothing.

[quote] What is Busfield’s net worth?

Supposedly about $1,000,000.

So together, it puts them at about $1.5 million net worth. And I hope that's not including that house of theirs.

by Anonymousreply 54May 11, 2022 6:51 PM

Didn’t she play Anne Frank at one point? I’m hoping that’s just a false memory.

by Anonymousreply 55May 11, 2022 6:53 PM

Maybe she is invoking memories of LHOP with her current home decor.

by Anonymousreply 56May 11, 2022 7:11 PM

Isn’t prairie granny a big design trope now?

by Anonymousreply 57May 11, 2022 7:15 PM

R57 Seems so, and Melissa's smart to exploit it. She might as well, she practically owns "prairie," go for it girl!

by Anonymousreply 58May 11, 2022 8:51 PM
by Anonymousreply 59May 11, 2022 10:10 PM

[quote]I don't know where all that money went.

Up her nose.

by Anonymousreply 60May 11, 2022 10:13 PM

R19 Sara is their mother's biological child by her second husband.

by Anonymousreply 61May 11, 2022 10:16 PM

Do you think Melissa resents Sara for having a career now despite being the ugly one?

by Anonymousreply 62May 11, 2022 10:18 PM

I hate people who say "and that's not okay" - such a moronic-sounding phrase.

by Anonymousreply 63May 11, 2022 10:18 PM

R63 deserves a SHIT BRA to its fucking head!!!

Stupid twat!

by Anonymousreply 64May 11, 2022 10:21 PM

r62 She likely resents not taking lesser opportunities because it wasn't the thing to do in her era -- which was probably made worse by all the crashing and burning other former child stars...

Sara earned more because of the many, many changes to the industry that substantially raised pay and residuals. So, she was on more solid ground out of the gate.

Sara, also, had the benefit that she tried to move into more mature roles, it recognized quickly by everyone she couldn't hack it and likely would never be able to translate that way. Hence, it seems most people have no idea or recall she did any tv/film outside of Roseanne/The Connors, The Talk & BBT.

Melissa, however, was under the impression she could still transition into a mature actress, even a star.

Sara was probably also helped by having lesbian connections as a closeted celebrity dyke for many years. . . Ellen had spoken the most about it and claimed being weary of a young Ms. Gilbert at some of these parties. That's the kind of circle that creates lasting bonds because of all the other shit you're dealing with.

Melissa struggled with knowing where she belonged, so instead we saw her chasing groups she wasn't part of and desperately trying to change her image which was her biggest seller (I vaguely recall her turning down hsn/qvc type of deals as did many other celebs in those days. -- that's the kicker, for many of the older celebs that survived, if not financially thrived, is they weren't as picky with marketing themselves or lending out their IPs, likeness, name.) -

Melissa from the professional side, well, ther were the problems of behavior and addiction issues, but she was professionally messy and tried to control too many things. (Bab5, I'd hear, most were glad she was temp but wouldn't really expand upon it.) But her social reputation wasn't really that damaged by anyting in the 80s/90s especially in contrast to many of her peers... where she burned bridges much more slowly, less dramatically. . . until you get the election campaign. Which I don't know how to emphasize just how dividing it was and the amount of damage it did.

by Anonymousreply 65May 11, 2022 11:28 PM

She also revealed that the shit-bra had not been laundered since 1992.

by Anonymousreply 66May 11, 2022 11:32 PM

That's an interesting analysis, R65.

Age certainly has a part to play in this scenario.

Melissa and Sara are from different generations, and different social circles.

Still, it looks like Melissa was just inept in parlaying her connections into $$$$.

For whatever reason, Sara just lucked out.

by Anonymousreply 67May 11, 2022 11:32 PM

R9 Melissa was adopted and is not biologically related to Sara. There is no reason they would look similar now, as they never have before.

by Anonymousreply 68May 11, 2022 11:36 PM

[quote] Which of the Melissas was supposedly a total cunt on the set of "Little House on the Prairie?" Or were they both?

Melissa Sue Anderson. Everyone that worked with her talked about her iciness.

by Anonymousreply 69May 12, 2022 2:14 PM

Didn't she move to suburban Detroit and terrorize the community with her bad behavior? I want to say she ran for some office too.

by Anonymousreply 70May 12, 2022 2:47 PM

Little House on the Poverty

by Anonymousreply 71May 12, 2022 3:33 PM

Son is becoming an actor, too

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by Anonymousreply 72May 12, 2022 10:19 PM

Are Melissa and Sara estranged? Just not close?

Was Melissa ever on The Talk?

by Anonymousreply 73May 12, 2022 10:21 PM

Wait, she named one of her children Michael? After Michael Landon? Or is he the love child she had with Landon?

by Anonymousreply 74May 12, 2022 10:22 PM

[quote] Are Melissa and Sara estranged? Just not close?

Melissa kept bugging Sara to borrow money, so Sara cut her off.

by Anonymousreply 75May 12, 2022 10:48 PM

R74 yes genius. The child born several years after Landon's death was their lovechild.

by Anonymousreply 76May 12, 2022 11:09 PM

Couldn't she score some alimony from Bruce if she was up the creek?

by Anonymousreply 77May 12, 2022 11:13 PM

Alimony ends when you get remarried.

They have an apartment in the city (unless they gave that up). This just seems like a country getaway.

by Anonymousreply 78May 12, 2022 11:16 PM

Did she do away with the shitbra?

by Anonymousreply 79May 12, 2022 11:25 PM

No. She leaves it hanging from a ceiling fan. Careful where you step.

by Anonymousreply 80May 12, 2022 11:29 PM

R76 Are you saying Melissa had Michael Landon’s frozen sperm at her ready?

by Anonymousreply 81May 12, 2022 11:33 PM

[quote] Which of the Melissas was supposedly a total cunt on the set of "Little House on the Prairie?" Or were they both?

Both Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert bitch in their memoirs about Melissa Sue Anderson on the set of "Little House on the Prairie," (Melissa Gilbert nearly obsessively so), but when it comes down to it, the worst they can point to in her behavior is that she was cold and distant, not that she was ever genuinely mean to them. It may have just been she was especially shy (or Canadian) around them since they were so close.

As far as I know, Missy Sue herself has never complained about them. She didn't in her own memoir.

And as far as I know, no one else on the show has weighed in about it. The only person besides the three of them who has written a memoir is the woman who played Miss Beadle (!!!), but I don;' know if she says anything in it about the girls on the set.

by Anonymousreply 82May 12, 2022 11:34 PM

[quote] The only person besides the three of them who has written a memoir is the woman who played Miss Beadle

Uh, Karen Grassle just wrote a memoir. You know....Caroline Ingalls herself.

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by Anonymousreply 83May 12, 2022 11:41 PM

That house @ R29 and R30 HAS to be prior to their purchase, complete gut and reno of the place. I can't imagine they are living in it that way.

by Anonymousreply 84May 12, 2022 11:42 PM

I can't move my forehead either. It slapped against the hairy abs of too many men as I sucked their cocks.

by Anonymousreply 85May 13, 2022 12:07 AM

"Don't hang up, Sara. NO: I promise I'll pay you back this time!! Sara? Sara, are you still there???"

by Anonymousreply 86May 13, 2022 12:12 AM

All that Roseanne money and still she won't buy me a fucking house!

by Anonymousreply 87May 13, 2022 12:15 AM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 88May 13, 2022 2:28 AM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 89May 13, 2022 2:29 AM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 90May 13, 2022 2:30 AM

R1 because one is about (supposedly) “this is my natural self but I just want to look younger.”

The other is “I had to change what I was born with” which just implies that you were born with “inferior”features, are not naturally pretty, or whatever.

Then there’s the whole erasing your ethnicity aspect which still remains the reason behind surgery for many people.

by Anonymousreply 91May 13, 2022 2:41 AM

I never knew they were sisters. Crazy. But it's amazing how having connections might help a person to get a job on a sit com.

I don't like her husband. I know he is an actor, but his character was such a douche on Thirtysomething. I remember the episode where he asks his cancer afflicted wife "when did you stop shaving your legs?" I can't get past that. I know it makes me crazy.

by Anonymousreply 92May 13, 2022 3:03 AM

I feel that Melissa G and Alison were the mean girls teaming up against Missy Sue

by Anonymousreply 93May 13, 2022 3:36 AM

R92 Then I'm crazy, too, because Elliot was the worst, and it affected my view of Busfield because he played Elliot with such zeal.

Then there were the allegations of sexual harassment/assault beginning in the early '90s and ending not long before his marriage to Melissa. His ick factor is off the charts.

by Anonymousreply 94May 13, 2022 5:59 AM

But he was so good in Revenge of the Nerds.

by Anonymousreply 95May 13, 2022 6:08 AM

Ya all know those Celebrity Worth things are totally pulled out of hot air, right?

I like Half Pint. She's frank and funny and real.

The house is cute. It's a cozy little home in the country. It's a little too hetero for my taste (that rug has to go) but it's super cozy and comfortable looking. Looks like real people live there instead of those fakeass stories you read showcasing the utterly boring and bland professionally decorated rich people shit you see on most home interior websites where everything is grey and white and bland and uncomfortable looking.

by Anonymousreply 96May 13, 2022 6:27 AM

Her crooked pig nose is not okay!

by Anonymousreply 97May 13, 2022 6:40 AM

Some people really lean into getting old and she seems to be one of them. It's kind of depressing. She used to be cute and stylish. Now she wears these shapeless, flapping granny dresses and sandals and let the grey grow out in her hair and doesn't wear makeup. You can just imagine her and Busfield calling each other "Mother" and "Pa" eventually and sitting in fucking rocking chairs. What a shame.

by Anonymousreply 98May 13, 2022 8:30 AM

I can't believe you people are stupid enough to take the word of one of the net worth websites as being in anyway accurate. They don't have the first clue what some star's finances are. You knuckleheads -- R35, R46, R67 -- act like what that stupid site says is verified fact. It isn't even close to fact.

by Anonymousreply 99May 13, 2022 8:37 AM

[Quote]"I can’t move my forehead — and that’s not okay,” she explained. “I have a feeling that I’m going to want to move it more in the future. I’d like to go someplace where that’s possible.

That place is called self-esteem.

by Anonymousreply 100May 13, 2022 8:46 AM

HOW DARE she not dye her hair and wear makeup!

by Anonymousreply 101May 13, 2022 8:55 AM

Loved her in Little House on the Prairie. I have nothing else good to say about her though.

by Anonymousreply 102May 13, 2022 8:58 AM

Are Melissa and Sara actually bio sisters? It doesn't appear that they are.

From WIKI: "Melissa Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 1964, to a newly engaged couple, Kathy Wood and David Darlington, and given up for adoption immediately after birth. She was adopted one day later by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert and his wife, dancer and actress Barbara Crane, the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. They later adopted a son, Jonathan, who co-starred on Little House on the Prairie.

Gilbert's parents divorced when she was 8 years old. Her mother then married Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Rebecca Abeles (the actress known professionally as Sara Gilbert) on January 29, 1975.

On February 13, 1976, Paul Gilbert died. Although 11-year-old Melissa was told that he had suffered a stroke, she found out years later that he had been a VA patient who dealt with constant pain and that he had taken his own life. The marriage of Barbara and Harold Abeles later ended in divorce. According to her biography, Gilbert was raised in her adoptive mother's Jewish religion, but did not have any formal religious education or conversion ceremony."

by Anonymousreply 103May 13, 2022 9:23 AM

Why did Sara take her mom's ex-husband's last name? Who she didn't even know (since they were long divorced and he died when she was a baby). Wonder how her dad felt about that.

by Anonymousreply 104May 13, 2022 9:58 AM

The man who adopted Melissa, his real name was Ed MacMahon!

"On May 9, 1964 (the day after her birth), Gilbert and his wife Barbara Crane adopted Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder, and her brother Jonathan Gilbert, who played Willie Oleson, on the NBC TV series Little House on the Prairie."

"Actress and producer Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles), the daughter of Paul Gilbert's wife Barbara and her second husband, Harold Abeles, took the Gilbert surname in 1984 although she had no blood or legal ties to Paul Gilbert."

by Anonymousreply 105May 13, 2022 10:05 AM

She took the name to cash in on her sister’s success, duh.

Has anybody ever located that wayward brother of theirs?

by Anonymousreply 106May 13, 2022 10:32 AM

I think those Celebrity Net Worth sites are just fantasies and estimates, shitty upstate house aside I find it hard to believe she’s only worth half a million. I’m worth half a million and I didn’t spend my childhood and teen years on a hit TV show, had a production company, or was president of the SAG. Unless she was a coke fiend and spent it all up her nose which I doubt. I’d say she’s in the low millions, certainly not as rich as Sara but not struggling either.

by Anonymousreply 107May 13, 2022 10:58 AM

I think Sara is adopted, but I'm not sure...not biological sisters.

by Anonymousreply 108May 13, 2022 11:43 AM

Oops...the answer was already posted ^^...skipped down without reading everything.

by Anonymousreply 109May 13, 2022 11:46 AM

[quote] Didn’t she play Anne Frank at one point? I’m hoping that’s just a false memory.

Yes and she also played Helen Keller.

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by Anonymousreply 110May 13, 2022 12:20 PM

Has anybody asked her if she’s OK?

by Anonymousreply 111May 13, 2022 1:01 PM

Anyone who believes "celebrity net worth" probably falls for Nigerian scams. It's all guess work.

Unless you're fucking a celebrity's accountant or business manager, you have no idea what they have.

by Anonymousreply 112May 13, 2022 6:47 PM

[quote] She took the name to cash in on her sister’s success, duh.

And boy, did she ever!

The fucking coat tail cunt!

I should have knocked her out with my shit bra.

by Anonymousreply 113May 13, 2022 6:52 PM

How the hell did she land Rob Lowe? She wasn’t ugly, but so far out of his league. Then again, so is his wife.

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by Anonymousreply 114May 14, 2022 11:33 PM

[quote] The fucking coat tail cunt!

is a coat tail cunt anything like a car wash cunt?

by Anonymousreply 115May 14, 2022 11:35 PM

I will give it to her that she had Rob Lowe in his prime.

by Anonymousreply 116May 14, 2022 11:39 PM

It's weird that she had fame so long ago but complains about the pressures of LA and how she had to escape it. I mean, does anyone seriously expect her to do anything other than conventions and look like the old lady she is?

by Anonymousreply 117May 14, 2022 11:48 PM

Those celebrity net worth sites are full of shit. One glaring example was one had Dawn Wells of Gilligan's Island net worth as 7 million, then after it came out that she was struggling financially and friend set up a gofundme, they quicky revised it to 50 grand.

by Anonymousreply 118May 14, 2022 11:54 PM

[quote]is a coat tail cunt anything like a car wash cunt?

I do know you MUST wear a shit bra while being a car wash cunt!

by Anonymousreply 119May 15, 2022 12:24 AM

[quote]How the hell did she land Rob Lowe? She wasn’t ugly, but so far out of his league. Then again, so is his wife.

Could be Rob has a small dick.

MG sure was out of his league. Rob was actually much prettier than a lot of women.

by Anonymousreply 120May 15, 2022 12:26 AM

[quote] One glaring example was one had Dawn Wells of Gilligan's Island net worth as 7 million, then after it came out that she was struggling financially and friend set up a gofundme, they quicky revised it to 50 grand.

What did she spend her money on? Natalie Schaeffer left her some money in her will.

by Anonymousreply 121May 15, 2022 12:37 AM

Bruce Boxleitner was a super fine man when he was young, tall, cute, and sexy!! Yummy. :-)

by Anonymousreply 122May 15, 2022 12:47 AM

[quote] I will give it to her that she had Rob Lowe in his prime.

So did hundreds of other women.

And probably some men, too!

by Anonymousreply 123May 15, 2022 1:17 AM

I can't move my feet. What's the problem?

by Anonymousreply 124May 15, 2022 1:41 AM

My dick is crooked.

And that's NOT okay!

by Anonymousreply 125May 15, 2022 1:43 AM

She and Robb were probably all caught up in a wow, we’re practically the brat pack, the cool kids of the 80s, let’s hook up and get our picture taken

by Anonymousreply 126May 15, 2022 1:49 AM

R126, Rob was in the brat pack she wasn’t.

I was reading more about her.... someone fixed her up with her first ex-husband when he was already living with another woman. Is it any wonder he cheated on her? Well, I think they both cheated. But she married him after 6 weeks, seemed to be a rebound from Rob. She also bankrolled his project or something. He seemed like a user. She really had no luck with men. I read she and Rob got engaged and shortly thereafter she told him she was pregnant and he completely dumped her. Very odd.

by Anonymousreply 127May 15, 2022 1:57 AM

Maybe Rob Lowe wants to be the prettiest in a couple. Two pretty people would cancel each other out. Maybe he doesn't want the competition.

by Anonymousreply 128May 15, 2022 1:58 AM

She's starting to look like the Annabelle doll.

by Anonymousreply 129May 15, 2022 2:03 AM

Busfield seemed to be kind of a rebound too, from the French cad. But it worked out, and good for her.

by Anonymousreply 130May 15, 2022 2:08 AM

R8, they are sisters but not biologically related to each other so there is no reason they would look like each other.

by Anonymousreply 131May 15, 2022 2:13 AM

I personally think Melissa's fame/iconic status is more deserved and authentic than the sister's.

by Anonymousreply 132May 15, 2022 2:15 AM

R8, Barbara Crane married Paul Gilbert. They adopted Melissa first and then adopted Jonathan second. The two kids were not biologically related. They were both on LHOP.

Barbara divorced Paul. Barbara then married Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Abeles, who later changed her name to Sara Gilbert, even though she has no relation to Paul.

Gilbert was born on April 28, 1967.[1] He is the adopted son of actors Barbara Cowen (née Barbara Crane) and Paul Gilbert and the adopted brother of actresses Melissa Gilbert and Sara Gilbert.[2]

In Melissa Gilbert's 2010 autobiography, Prairie Tale, she said Paul took his own life in 1976 due to his suffering from constant pain.[3] Barbara then married Harold Abeles, and together they had Sara Abeles, who changed her name to Sara Gilbert, even though she has no relation to Paul.

In Melissa Gilbert's autobiography, she wrote that when Jonathan was in his early 20s, he moved away from California and she had no relationship with him since then, for reasons supposedly unknown to her. Her autobiography states that he is a stockbroker living in New York City.[4]

by Anonymousreply 133May 15, 2022 2:22 AM

R114 why does her nose look smaller there , before she got one of her 10 nose jobs? I don’t get it.

by Anonymousreply 134May 15, 2022 3:39 AM

Oh Manly!!!

by Anonymousreply 135May 15, 2022 5:02 AM

Did she ask the stockbroker for money too?

by Anonymousreply 136May 15, 2022 6:00 AM

Her upstate NY house looks like it's a Section 8 rental.

I have several friends and family members who moved upstate NY years ago, their homes look like castles compared to that hovel she lives in.

As two fairly well known performers they should be ashamed to show they live in that awful house.

The bricks on the chimney are a nice touch. Yiiiikes.

by Anonymousreply 137May 16, 2022 4:58 AM

Don't judge, R137.

Melissa hasn't had any significant work in decades.

It's not easy being an actor.

Everyone expects them to be rich and fabulous.

But when the work dries up, the work dries up.

And there's nothing they can do about it.

by Anonymousreply 138May 16, 2022 5:00 AM

That house looks like the setting of a horror film. Perhaps they can rent it out, make some extra cash.

The chimney.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 139May 16, 2022 5:01 AM

Don't judge, [R137]. Melissa hasn't had any significant work in decades. It's not easy being an actor. Everyone expects them to be rich and fabulous. But when the work dries up, the work dries up. And there's nothing they can do about it.

Please, many of these performers, if they didn't become alcoholics or druggies, knew how to invest. One of the blonds who replaced Suzanne Somers on Three's Company, bought a couple of apartment buildings. Other performers went into other types of businesses. If anyone waits around for work to come to them, well, that's their problem..

Most of these people made good money, especially if they started acting as children on long running popular TV shows or in films. There is no excuse, unless these performers were ripped off by their parents, their managers, their lawyers or other shady people.

What about her husband? He was a regular on Thirtysomething, a series which was very popular. Didn't he make decent money? The series ran for four seasons and won 13 Emmys.

by Anonymousreply 140May 16, 2022 5:11 AM

Don't judge, [[R137]]. Melissa hasn't had any significant work in decades. It's not easy being an actor. Everyone expects them to be rich and fabulous. But when the work dries up, the work dries up. And there's nothing they can do about it.

Please, many of these performers, if they didn't become alcoholics or druggies, knew how to invest. One of the blonds who replaced Suzanne Somers on Three's Company, bought a couple of apartment buildings. Other performers went into other types of businesses. If anyone waits around for work to come to them, well, that's their problem..

Most of these people made good money, especially if they started acting as children on long running popular TV shows or in films. There is no excuse, unless these performers were ripped off by their parents, their managers, their lawyers or other shady people.

What about her husband? He was a regular on Thirtysomething, a series which was very popular. Didn't he make decent money? The series ran for four seasons and won 13 Emmys.

by Anonymousreply 141May 16, 2022 5:11 AM

Sister Sara should help out Melissa.

Melissa is the whole reason Sara got into the business in the first place.

Show a little appreciation!

by Anonymousreply 142May 16, 2022 2:30 PM

Sara became a nun? I thought she was a lesbian, not that those two are mutually exclusive or anything?

by Anonymousreply 143May 16, 2022 2:42 PM

R28 OMG, her husband has gayface

by Anonymousreply 144May 16, 2022 3:31 PM

[Quote]“I have a feeling that I’m going to want to move it more in the future. I’d like to go someplace where that’s possible.”

This sounds so nuts. L.A. *forbids* forehead movement and giving up botox.

by Anonymousreply 145May 16, 2022 8:33 PM

Weren't there sexual assault allegations against Timothy Busfield or were they pedo allegations?

I do remember there being some type of sexual assault allegations against him.

by Anonymousreply 146May 17, 2022 4:03 AM

Boxenleiter must have had some serious sizemeats. She seemed dickmatized.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 147May 20, 2022 1:36 PM

Both, R146. He was accused of harassing a teen back in the early '90s. Then years later and shortly before he met Melissa, a woman accused him of assaulting her while on a movie date with him.

So he's a real charmer.

by Anonymousreply 148May 20, 2022 2:31 PM
Melissa Gilbert: "I can't move my forehead, and that's not okay" (2024)

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