Melissa Gilbert Discovers Family Connection to Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Melissa Gilbert Discovers Family Connection to her "Little House on the Prairie" Character
by Wesley Stenzel
May 26, 2026


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

She 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 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."

https://ew.com/melissa-gilbert-famil...acter-11984224