Little House on the Prairie Alumni Melissa Gilbert will guest star on a Hallmark series, nearly 11 years after leaving Hollywood to live on a farm in Michigan.
The 60-year-old actress, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie, will appear in a two-episode arc in the upcoming 12th season of When Calls The Heart, set to premiere in 2025.
Her character, Georgie McGill, will share “a surprising past with a special Hope Valley resident,” according to a press release.
Gilbert’s cameo is also tied to Little House on the Prairie, as When Calls the Heart is executive produced by Michael Landon Jr., son of the late Michael Landon, who played Pa on the iconic family show.
Kelly Garrett, vice president of programming at Hallmark Media, highlighted the parallels between When Calls the Heart and Little House on the Prairie in a recent statement, saying that both shows have “charming and compelling stories of hope, human connection and survival on the frontier.”
Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert is set to guest star on a Hallmark series, nearly 11 years after leaving Hollywood to embrace life on a Michigan farm.
The 60-year-old actress, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie, will appear in a two-episode arc in the upcoming 12th season of When Calls The Heart, set to premiere in 2025.
Garrett added: ‘It was fitting that the first people to hear this special news were the Hearties, devoted fans who have celebrated the show year after year and made it a success.
“The energy of being here with them to share this news is electric and we can’t wait for them to meet Georgie next year.”
The announcement comes after Gilbert revealed that She left Los Angeles in 2013 to “grow old,” freeing herself from Hollywood’s harsh and unrealistic expectations for actresses, despite her success in Tinseltown.
“I had to deal with all the pressures. When you live in Los Angeles, it’s like living in a mall when you work in a mall,” she said. People.
‘Literally everyone is in business. When you walk into a restaurant, all heads turn to see who came in.
‘Everyone is always watching, curious, competing and that’s a very difficult thing, especially for an actress. It puts a lot of pressure on you to stay thin and young and it really makes it difficult to feel comfortable in your own skin, because of the ageing process.
‘So, are you going to age comfortably and happily? Are you going to fight against it, to be unhealthy and to feel like there’s something wrong with you for getting older and that you’re defective for getting older?
“I had to leave there (Los Angeles) because I felt like I wasn’t being authentically myself.”
Her character, Georgie McGill, will share “a surprising past with a special Hope Valley resident,” according to a press release; (Lori Loughlin pictured)
Gilbert’s cameo is also tied to Little House on the Prairie, as When Calls the Heart is executive produced by Michael Landon Jr., son of the late Michael Landon, who played Pa on the iconic family show.
The Diary of Anne Frank actress, now married to Timothy Busfield, has two children: Dakota, 35, with her first husband, Bo Brinkman, and Michael, 28, with her second husband, Bruce Boxleitner.
After moving to Michigan and eventually New York, she shared that all of her anxieties disappeared after leaving California.
She said: ‘In the five years I was at Michigan, all of that stopped. … I dropped everything and focused on being as physically and emotionally healthy as I could.
“And I think that shows that yes, I am getting older, but it’s not a curse, it’s a blessing.”
She was on the popular television show Little House On The Prairie from 1974 to 1983, appearing in over 200 episodes.
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie.
The actress also models for the brand.
“Each piece, crafted in collaboration with our incredible artisans, is unique and special and reflects our vision and their hard work,” she said earlier this year.
“From linens to pottery, aprons to toys, there’s something for everyone that will put a smile on your face. Have you seen it yet? You better check out Modern Prairie’s website because these limited edition treasures are flying off the shelves!”
In November, she launched an app for her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie aimed at older women.
She co-founded Modern Prairie with retail and merchandising expert Nicole Haase.
“The retail industry has underestimated women our age, and our ability and desire to spend,” Gilbert said. People.
“There was very little space for older women. We were marginalized as disoriented old women or grumpy old women to be avoided. Clearly, there is much more to us than that.”
Modern Prairie will achieve Gilbert’s vision as a ‘space where women can connect’ as well He launched an application.
Seen on the right with Melissa Sue Anderson, left, and Lindsay Greenbush, center, in Little House on the Prairie
Co-starring Mitch Vogel on the hit family show that remains popular thanks to streamers.
“Women need to know that they are not alone,” Gilbert said of her desire to create a community. “There is always someone there to help us, to walk ahead of us, to walk behind us, to hold us up if we need to.”
Gilbert played Laura Ingalls Wilder, also known as ‘Half Pint’, in the 1970s NBC series Little House on the Prairie, adapted from the bestselling book series Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Little House on the Prairie premiered with a pilot film in March 1974 and celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
“There are people who will always assume I’m 12,” Gilbert said. “And I’ll always be that little girl, full of wonder and running through the fields. Half Pint will always be inside me. But we’re all getting older.”
The Modern Prairie brand offers apparel and home goods inspired by Little House’s values of “love, community, and family” and are made by women-owned or women-led businesses.
Gilbert lives on a 14-acre farm with her husband Busfield.
“We love doing our silly little chores together, like cleaning the chicken coop, making sure they have their treats and playing with the dogs,” Gilbert said.
We play backgammon a lot, we cook together, and we actually like to sit next to each other in a room, no matter where we are. We really enjoy being together.
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie
Gilbert lives on a 14-acre farm with her husband Timothy Busfield, shown in January 2020 in New York City.
Gilbert and Busfield have been married since 2013 and she credited him for offering support as she came to terms with aging naturally.
“And when I was like, ‘I think I’m going to stop dying my hair,’ he was like, ‘I can’t wait to see what color it is. It’s so exciting! ‘ When I was like, ‘I think I want to permanently remove my breast implants,’ he was like, ‘Just do it!'” Gilbert said. “It’s incredibly empowering to be with someone who says, ‘I love you exactly the way you are.'”
Both Gilbert and Busfield had just gone through second divorces from their respective exes when they began dating.
After getting married, Gilbert and Busfield moved to Howell, Michigan, to a charmingly restored Victorian-era home in August 2013, but later relocated to a picturesque 14-acre cabin on Catskill Mountain in New York.