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Melissa Gilbert

Melissa Gilbert, American actress and director

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Born
May 8, 1964
Age in 2026
62
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1964

About Melissa Gilbert

Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in numerous commercials and guest-starring roles on television. From 1974 to 1983, she starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second-oldest daughter of Charles Ingalls on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie. During the run of Little House, Gilbert appeared in several television films, including The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) and The Miracle Worker (1979). As an adult, she continued her career mainly in television films. From 2009 to 2010, Gilbert appeared as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical. In 2012, she was a contestant on season fourteen of the reality dance competition show Dancing with the Stars on ABC. Gilbert became close to the Landon family after her adoptive father died.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Melissa Gilbert timeline

  1. From 1974 to 1983, she starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second-oldest daughter of Charles Ingalls on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie.
  2. During the run of Little House, Gilbert appeared in several television films, including The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) and The Miracle Worker (1979).
  3. From 2009 to 2010, Gilbert appeared as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical.

The world when Melissa Gilbert was born

Melissa Gilbert was born in 1964. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1964

  • #1 song"I Want to Hold Your Hand" – The Beatles
  • Top movieMy Fair Lady
  • Top TV showBonanza
  • Best-selling bookThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold – John le Carré

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentCassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) defeats Sonny Liston
  • Top headlineCivil Rights Act signed into law
  • Technology milestoneIBM System/360 mainframe computer launched
  • Defining fadBeatlemania
  • Notable inventionBASIC programming language
  • World population3.27 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderLyndon B. Johnson
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population191.9M

1964 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Melissa Gilbert's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19642026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$13,350$435,000
Average income$8,600$67,500
Minimum wage$1.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.86$11.95
Postage stamp$0.05$0.73
Population191.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.