The actress also shared a surprising coincidence linking her adoptive mother to her birth mother.

Melissa Gilbert discovers real-life family connection to her Little House on the Prairie character

The actress also shared a surprising coincidence linking her adoptive mother to her birth mother.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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May 26, 2026 5:28 p.m. ET

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Melissa Gilbert in 2023, and as Laura Ingalls in 'Little House on the Prairie'. Credit:

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

- Melissa Gilbert shared a connection between her *Little House on the Prairie* character's family and her real-life family.

- The actress said that the connection was discovered by her fifth cousin.

- Gilbert also shared a surprising parallel between her birth mother and her adopted mother.

Melissa Gilbert is discovering new connections between her family and her most iconic character.

The *Diary of Anne Frank* actress shared a bizarre parallel between her biological father and the family of her *Little House on the Prairie* character, real-life author Laura Ingalls Wilder.

"I was today years old when I found out my birth father, David Darlington's middle name was ..... MANLY!" she shared on Instagram.

"Manly" was the nickname that Ingalls Wilder gave to her husband, Almanzo Wilder, who was played by Dean Butler on the last four seasons of the show.

Gilbert in 'Little House on the Prairie'.

Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Gilbert was adopted the day after her birth in 1964 by comedian Paul Gilbert and actress Barbara Crane. She later reconnected with her biological father, but didn't make the discovery about his middle name until a distant relative shared the information with her recently.

"Thank you to my fifth cousin, @harleesco for being such a stalwart researcher," Gilbert wrote in her Instagram caption before sharing another wild coincidence. "I also learned that my birth mother, Frances Catherineanne Wood (Cathy), was born on April 26, 1935. My mother, Barbara Gilbert-Cowan was born on April 26, 1936!!!!!!"

She continued, "It's just too coincidental and there might be other birth relatives out there who see it."

Gilbert in New York City in 2020.

Roy Rochlin/Getty

Gilbert has been a frequent Instagram user in recent years, but deactivated her account for a few months after authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of her husband, *West Wing *star Timothy Busfield, on child sex abuse charges in January. (Busfield has denied the allegations.) She rejoined the platform earlier this month.

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Due to the heightened scrutiny around her family, Gilbert has been limiting comments on her social media posts — but turned them back on for this particular post about her father.

"If things get weird, or nasty, I'll turn them off again but I know there are so many people out there with similar stories and experiences," she wrote. "I'm compelled to share mine and want, very much, to hear yours."

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Gilbert has defended her husband, calling him "the last person in the world who would hurt a child" in a recent interview with *Good Morning America*. "We are grieving what we had," she said. "All of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects… For Tim, it's done. He's canceled and this will never — even if he's exonerated, he will always be that guy."

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