70s TV child star unrecognisable 41 years after hit show, quitting Hollywood and movie comeback – can you guess who?
CAN you guess who this '70s child star is after they stepped out looking unrecognisable 41 years after hit show?
At age 60, this beloved star shot to fame when she appeared on a a hit American Western drama television series.
Stepping out on Tuesday for a press event, she looked worlds away from how fans will remember her appearing on their TV screens.
It's Melissa Gilbert who shot to fame as Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie.
Beating over 500 other child stars for the part, Melissa filmed the pilot for the programme in 1973 before filming the series the following year.
She has since been a household name, renowned for playing the role of Laura in the hit show.
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During the run of the series that catapulted her to superstardom, Melissa also appeared in several television films.
In 1980 she starred in The Diary of Anne Frank , and in 1979 she appeared in The Miracle Worker.
Melissa's career in the television industry has continued throughout her life.
From 2009 to 2010, she appeared as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical.
And in 2012, she was a contestant on season fourteen of Dancing with the Stars in the US.
KELLY CLARKSON SHOW APPEARANCE
Back in November, Melissa appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she spoke about the hit show that shot her to superstardom.
"Can you believe it’s been 50 years of Little House on the Prairie?!" the show's Instagram account penned alongside a video of Melissa chatting to Kelly.
"It never went off the air," Melissa said on the show last year, swooning over how "people still watch it".
In May 2023, the famous actress told fans of how she had spent the night in hospital after she suffered a painful insect bite that soon developed into an abscess and cellulitis.
HOSPITAL DASH
"A Public Service Announcement," she penned in the caption of an Instagram post, adding: "Well that was a fun night in the ER (she said with dripping sarcasm)."
Explaining the ordeal, Melissa went on: "Two days ago a flying insect (not bee or wasp) bit my arm. By last night my arm was incredibly swollen, red and hot.
"Called my [doctor and] he suggested we hightail it to the ER. I was gonna wait but [Timothy] said, 'Absolutely not. We are going!' After many tests I was diagnosed with an abscess and cellulitis."
An abscess is a pus-filled lump under the skin, which is often caused by a bacterial infection, while cellulitis is a serious bacterial skin infection.
Melissa explained how her conditions were treated "immediately" with an "IV of clindamycin, Benadryl and acetaminophen".
In her caption she added: "It [the bite] immediately started to get better. Still kept me up all night. Starting antibiotics, Benadryl and ibuprofen orally today."
PERSONAL LIFE
Melissa has been married three times.
She married Bo Brinkman in 1988 and they divorced in 1994. They welcomed Dakota Brinkman during their marriage.
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Melissa then wed Bruce Boxleitner in 1995 and they welcomed Michael Boxleitner before they split in 2011.
The actress is now currently married to Timothy Busfield, whom she tied the knot with in 2013.
