This Girl Became a Successful Child Star after Bio Parents Gave Her up to Family Who Had ‘No Plans’ to Adopt

Melissa Gilbert’s life began in secrecy. Born on May 8, 1964, at a Los Angeles hospital, she was adopted by Barbara Crane and Paul Gilbert just a day later. Her biological parents, focused on their careers, chose adoption, and her adoptive parents kept her background hidden for years. Both were from the entertainment industry and had one other adopted child, Jonathan. Despite separating when Melissa was six, she remembered Paul fondly as a loving, brilliant man.

After Paul’s death in 1976, initially thought to be from a stroke, Melissa later discovered he had died by suicide. She also learned more about her biological parents—David Darlington, a Rhodes Scholar, and Kathy Wood, a dancer, not a prima ballerina. Her birth parents, each with children from previous marriages, had been unable to care for her.

In 2020, Melissa revealed the long-hidden family secrets, including the truth about her father’s death. At 45, she hired a detective to uncover the painful details of his suicide, driven by chronic pain and mental anguish. This revelation deeply affected Melissa, but she eventually channeled her grief into advocating for mental health and suicide prevention. In doing so, she found healing and came to forgive her mother for keeping such painful secrets