Melissa Gilbert has opened up about reconnecting with her biological father as an adult, years after being adopted at birth.
The Little House on the Prairie star revealed that her biological father “knew” she was his daughter simply from watching her on screen. Melissa shared the journey she took to discover her parents on an episode of Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast on Tuesday.
The star recounted how she found her birth father and called him to share the news, only to discover he already knew. The man in question was a stock car racer and musician.
"I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, 'Well, who are you? What do you do?'" she said.
"And I said, 'Well, here's the thing.' And I said, 'Did you ever watch Little House on the Prairie?' And he said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it."
She continued: "He could see. And when I met my half siblings, we all look alike. So, you could definitely see it. So, it's pretty clear."
Melissa was raised by her adoptive parents – the actress Barbara Cowan and the late Paul Gilbert. The actress also shared details of her biological mother Kathy and revealed she had sadly passed away before the pair were able to reconnect. Melissa discovered that Kathy was an exotic dancer.
The 61-year-old couldn’t help but notice the similarities she shared with her biological parents, both of whom had ties to the entertainment world. With her roots and upbringing in an acting household, it seems she was destined for stardom from the start.
"It was pretty clear that it was in me," she said.
"They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert," she explained of her biological parents.
"Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So the decision was made to put me up for adoption."
Melissa also opened up about her own two children – the actress shares Dakota with her first husband, director Bo Brinkman, and Michael, with her second husband, actor Bruce Boxleitner. It seems her kids have also inherited her striking features.
"When I saw [Dakota] for the first time, I went, 'Oh my god,'" she admitted.
"He had my eyebrows and he had my lips, and I'd never seen anyone that looked like me. And then I realized there's got to be more."