Melissa Ellen Gilbert was born on 8th May 1964, in Los Angeles, California USA, and was adopted immediately after birth, her name being that of her adoptive parents. Melissa is an actress as well as a television director which are the main sources of her net worth. She rose to prominence as a child actress, becoming well-known for her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the series “Little House on the Prairie” (1974 – 1983). Gilbert is the winner of three Young Artist Awards, (1982, 1983, and 1984), Golden Boot Award (2000), and TV Land Award (2006).
Is the person who began her career in early childhood wealthy enough? Estimations show that currently Melissa Gilbert’s net worth is as much as $500,000. It has been reported that because of financial difficulties she owes $360,000 in federal income taxes (2015). Previously, she had financial problems and had debts of $112,000 in 2013.
Melissa Gilbert Net Worth $500,000
Regarding the background information, Melissa’s adoptive parents were both celebrities: the actress Barbara B. Crane and actor Paul Gilbert. As a child actress, she began her career taking part in various commercials. Later, she was invited to audition for the Laura Ingalls role together with another 500 applicants. Winning the role, Gilbert appeared in the series for almost 10 years. Afterward, she starred mainly in television films, including “The Miracle Worker” (1979), “Choices of the Heart” (1983), “Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife” (1987), “With a Vengeance” (1992), “Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story” (1993), “Seduction in a Small Town” (1997), “Then Came Jones” (2003), “Thicker than Water” (2005), “Sacrifices of the Heart” (2007) and many others.
What is more, Gilbert landed roles in the feature films “Sylvester” (1985) directed by Tim Hunter, and “Safe Harbour” (2007) directed by Bill Corcoran. Melissa Gilbert increased her net worth while acting in television series, including the main roles in the sitcom “Stand By Your Man” (1992), and the drama television series “Sweet Justice” (1994 – 1995). As a contestant, she took part in the reality competition series “Dancing with the Stars” (2012), in which she finished in fifth place overall.
It is worth to mention the fact that Melissa Gilbert served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms from 2001 to 2005. She refused to take part in the elections for the third term. Undoubtedly, this prestigious position indirectly increased her popularity as well as her net worth.
Melissa also became an author, as a consequence of suffering from drug abuse as well as alcoholism, both of which she overcame. Her struggle with addictions is described in her autobiography “Prairie Tale: A Memoir” (2009). As an author, Melisa Gilbert has added to her net worth by also publishing a book for children “Daisy and Josephine” (2014), and the cookery book “My Prairie Cookbook: Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours” (2014).
In the rest of her personal life, Melisa has been married three times and given birth to two children. She was married to Bo Brinkman Brinkman, from 1988 to 1992. Afterward, she married actor and writer Bruce Boxleitner in 1995, but they divorced in 2011. Currently, she has been married to actor and film director Timothy Busfield since 2013. Recently, rumors have circulated about Melisa having several plastic operations. It can be neither confirmed nor denied but the look of the actress certainly isn’t natural.
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