Actress Melissa Gilbert recently had an emotional share to make with fans on social media. She recently learned about members of her family that she previously didn’t know existed. In fact, one of Gilbert’s reunited siblings helped her share her story.
Melissa Gilbert Recently Opened Up To Fans About ‘A Remarkable Few Weeks’
As an actress, Gilbert is known to many for portraying Laura Ingalls Wilder on NBC’s Little House on the Prairie. Loosely based on the book series of the same name, the show originally ran from 1974 to 1983.
Over the years, Gilbert has become known for other ventures. She notably served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005. In the world of reality television, she also competed in Season 14 of Dancing with the Stars.
In a recent share on Instagram, Gilbert opened up about an emotional revelation in her family. She shared, after “a remarkable few weeks,” she learned that she has three older brothers she previously didn’t know about, from her birth mother’s side of the family.
The actress was adopted at birth by Barbara Cowan (née Crane) and Paul Gilbert. As she shared, “For those who don’t know, I was adopted at birth. For which I will be eternally grateful.”
Over the years, Gilbert has learned more about her biological family. As she explained, “Decades ago, I found my birth father’s family. Including my three older half-siblings. Those relationships were a bit fraught. Not very close and still full of secrets. Not what I’d hoped but ultimately an important part of my story and one for which I will always be grateful to them for.”
More recently, Gilbert began to contact more members of her birth mother’s family. She explained, “A few weeks ago I connected, through an app with my fifth biological cousin on my birth mother’s side.” It was this cousin, Harry, who helped her find her siblings.
Gilbert Shared That She Will Explain More Of The Story On Substack
Gilbert admitted that this was a dream come true for her. She shared, “I’d always wished for a big brother and I found out I have three.” This includes two surviving siblings, Matt and Laird, and a late brother, Mark.
For his part, Matt shared that he was “looking forward to seeing where this new chapter leads.” In addition, he also revealed that Mark is survived by his son, Mark Olson. As he continued, It’s been an incredible few weeks of discovering family history, sharing stories, asking a million questions, and getting to know someone I never knew existed.”
Mark took time to thank Harry for making this reunion possible. However, while he is happy to meet Melissa, he also made clear he hasn’t forgotten his own adopted sister. He shared, “I also want to point out that my adopted sister, Marianna, who has been my sister my entire life, is my rock! Finding a biological sister doesn’t change that one bit. I’m incredibly fortunate to have both of them in my life.”
However, Gilbert has more of the story to tell. As she shared, she plans to detail more of the experience on her Substack.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
