Little House on the Prairie Gilbert's earliest television appearances were in dozens of commercials, including one for
Alpo dog food with
Lorne Greene (Michael Landon's television father on
Bonanza). She also attended school with Landon's daughter,
Leslie Landon. It was Leslie who informed her that she had won the role of
Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second oldest daughter, on
Little House on the Prairie, beating out over 500 child actresses for the part. The pilot was shot in 1973 and was a ratings success. Almost a year later, Gilbert began filming the series. During the show's run, Gilbert appeared in several television films, including
The Diary of Anne Frank and
The Miracle Worker. Gilbert became close to the Landon family after her adoptive father died. However, a rift developed between Michael Landon and Gilbert after the revelation of Landon's affair with
Little House young makeup artist, Cindy Clerico. Gilbert had limited contact with Landon after
Little House ended during the 1983–84 season. Seven years later, following his May 9, 1991, appearance on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where he discussed his
pancreatic cancer, she was contacted by Landon's family and visited him at his
Malibu home. Landon died one week later. When Gilbert gave birth to her son with second husband
Bruce Boxleitner on October 6, 1995, they named him Michael, in honor of Landon.
Career after Little House Gilbert has continued to work regularly, mainly in television. She starred as
Jean Donovan in the biopic
Choices of the Heart (1983), and as
Anna Sheridan in three episodes of
Babylon 5 with then-husband Boxleitner in 1996. She also provided the voice of
Barbara Gordon/
Batgirl on the 1990s
Batman: The Animated Series, though she would be replaced by
Mary Kay Bergman for the movie
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and by
Tara Strong for the series' follow-up
The New Batman Adventures. For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985. Her then-fiancé,
Rob Lowe, was present with her when her star was unveiled during the ceremony. In 1998, she was inducted into the
Western Performers Hall of Fame at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 2006, Gilbert appeared as Shari Noble, a patient looking to reconstruct her nipples after committing
zoophilia with her dog in a season four episode of
Nip/Tuck. In 2008 and through 2009, Gilbert played
Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the musical adaptation of
Little House on the Prairie. This world premiere production at the
Guthrie Theater in
Minneapolis was directed by
Francesca Zambello and also starred
Kara Lindsay as Laura. The show ran through October 19 and was on a US National tour for 2009–10. The tour ended in June 2010 at
Starlight Theatre in
Kansas City, Missouri. In March 2012, Gilbert joined the cast of celebrity contestants on season 14 of
Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with
Maksim Chmerkovskiy. During week four's show, while dancing the
Paso Doble, she fell and hit her head on Maksim's leg and suffered a mild concussion and was taken to a hospital. She went home to recuperate, but returned to continue in the competition. In week eight of competition, she was eliminated, finishing in fifth place. In March and April 2018, Gilbert starred in an
Off-Off-Broadway, limited-run production of Geraldine Aron's 2001 one-woman play
My Brilliant Divorce.
Screen Actors Guild presidency (2001–2005) Gilbert was elected president of the
Screen Actors Guild in 2001 after a contentious candidacy, in which she ultimately beat her opponent,
Rhoda actress
Valerie Harper. In 2003, she was re-elected, defeating
Kent McCord with 50% of the vote to his 42%. In July 2005, she announced that she would not seek a third term.
2016 congressional campaign On August 10, 2015, Gilbert announced her campaign for
Michigan's 8th congressional district in the
2016 elections to the
United States House of Representatives. Gilbert, who was the presumptive Democratic nominee in the district, dropped out of the race in May 2016, citing health issues. In 2022, Gilbert launched a lifestyle app aimed at women called Modern Prairie. ==Personal life==