This celebrity,
who was born in Los Angeles on May 8, 1964, was given up for adoption by her biological parents just 24 hours after birth.
Her adoptive parents, Barbara Crane and Paul Gilbert, took her in along with her younger brother, Jonathan. Paul, a former aerialist and comedian, and Barbara, an actress, were not looking to adopt but were offered the opportunity when the child became available. Despite their initial surprise at becoming parents, the couple raised the girl, although her biological parents had decided to give her up due to their careers taking precedence. Later, the celebrity discovered the truth about her biological parents: her mother, Kathy Wood, was a dancer, and her father, David Darlington, worked as a sign painter and stock car racer, not the high-status individuals she had been told about as a child.
As the actress grew older, she learned even more shocking details about her adoptive family. Her father’s death was initially told to her as being caused by a stroke, but years later, she discovered he had died by suicide due to extreme pain from war injuries.
This revelation caused her significant emotional turmoil, but she later accepted it and became an advocate for mental health awareness. Additionally, her adoptive mother, Barbara, had kept several secrets, including her true feelings about the adoption and the challenges in their family. Over time, the actress forgave her mother and made peace with the past. Today, Melissa Gilbert, known for her role as Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, leads a fulfilling life with her third husband, Timothy Busfield, and enjoys being a grandmother to eight grandchildren.
