Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert is set to guest star in 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, premiering in 2025.
Her character, Georgie McGill, will share ‘a surprising past with one 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’s executive producer is Michael Landon Jr., son of late Michael Landon, who played Pa on the iconic family show.
Kelly Garrett, Hallmark Media’s vice president of programming, highlighted the parallels between When Calls the Heart and Little House on the Prairie in a recent statement, saying both shows have ‘charming and compelling stories of hope, human connection and frontier survival.’
Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert is set to guest star in 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, premiering in 2025
Garrett added: ‘It was only 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 such a success.
‘The energy being here with them to share this news is electric, and we cannot wait for them to meet Georgie next year.’
The announcement comes after Gilbert revealed she left LA in 2013 to ‘age,’ freeing herself from Hollywood’s harsh, unrealistic expectations for actresses, despite her success in Tinseltown.
‘All of the pressures, I faced all of them. When you live in Los Angeles, it’s like living at the mall when you work at the mall,’ she told People.
‘Literally, everyone is in the business. When you walk into a restaurant, every head turns to see who walked in.
‘Everybody’s always looking, curious, competing and that’s a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor. It puts a lot of pressure on staying thin and staying young and really it makes it hard to feel comfortable in one’s own skin, because [of] the aging process.
‘So are you going to age comfortably and happily? Are you going to fight it, be unhealthy and feel like there’s something wrong with you for aging and that you’re defective because you’ve gotten older?
‘I had to get out of there [L.A.], because it felt like I was not being authentically myself.’
Her character, Georgie McGill, will share ‘a surprising past with one 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’s executive producer is Michael Landon Jr., son of late Michael Landon, who played Pa on the iconic family show
The Diary of Anne Frank actress, now married to Timothy Busfield, has two sons—Dakota, 35, with her first husband Bo Brinkman, and Michael, 28, with her second husband Bruce Boxleitner.
After relocating to Michigan and eventually New York, she shared that all her anxieties melted away after leaving California.
She said: ‘In the five years that I was in Michigan, all of that stopped. … I stopped everything and just focused on being as physically and emotionally healthy as I could.
‘And I think that shows, ‘Yes, I’m aging, but it’s not a curse — it’s a blessing.”
She was on the popular TV show Little House On The Prairie from 1974 until 1983, appearing in over 200 episodes.
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie.
The actress also models for the brand.
‘Crafted in partnership with our incredible artisans, each piece is unique and special, reflecting our vision and their hard work,’ she said earlier this year.
‘From linens to ceramics, aprons to toys, there’s something for everyone to bring a smile to your face. Have you checked it out yet? Better mosey on over to the Modern Prairie website because these limited-edition treasures are flying off the shelves!’
In November she launched an app for her Modern Prairie lifestyle brand targeted toward older women.
She cofounded 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 told People.
‘There was very little space for aging woman. We were either marginalized as a spaced-out old lady or as a cranky old woman you want to avoid. There’s clearly so much more to us than that.’
Modern Prairie to reach Gilbert’s vision as a ‘space where women can connect’ also has launched an app.
Seen far right with Melissa Sue Anderson, far left, and Lindsay Greenbush, center, on Little House On The Prairie
With costar Mitch Vogel on the hit family show that is still popular thanks to streamers
‘Women need to know they’re not alone,’ Gilbert said of wanting to create a community. ‘There’s always someone there to help us through, to walk ahead of us, to walk behind us, to hold us up if need be.
Gilbert portrayed Laura Ingalls Wilder aka ‘Half Pint’ in the 1970s NBC series Little House On The Prairie adapted from the best-selling series of Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Little House On The Prairie premiered with a pilot movie in March 1974 and celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
‘There are people who will perennially assume that I’m 12 years old,’ Gilbert said. ‘And I will always be that girl, full of wonder and running through the fields. Half Pint is inside me always. But we are all aging.’
The Modern Prairie brand brand offers clothing and home goods inspired by the Little House values of ‘love, community and family’ and are made by women-owned or women-run businesses.
Gilbert lives on a 14-acre farm with husband Busfield.
‘We just love doing our silly little chores together, like cleaning out the chicken coop, and making sure they have their treats, and playing with the dogs,’ Gilbert said.
‘We play a lot of backgammon. We cook together. And really, we just like to sit next to each other in a room no matter where we are. We just really enjoy being together.’
Gilbert has a clothing collection called Modern Prairie
Gilbert lives on a 14-acre farm with 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 her support as she embraced aging naturally.
‘And when I would say, ”I think I’m going to stop coloring my hair,” he’d say, ”Can’t wait to see what color it is. This is so exciting!” When I said, ”I think I want to get my breast implants taken out permanently,” he said, ”Do it!”,’ Gilbert said. ‘It’s incredibly uplifting to be with someone who says, ‘I love you exactly the way you are.”’
Both Gilbert and Busfield had just gone through second divorces with their respective former partners when they started dating.
After getting married, Gilbert and Busfield moved to Howell, Michigan into a charming, restored Victorian-era home in August 2013, but later moved to a picturesque 14-acre Catskill Mountain cottage in New York.
