After decades in the limelight, this former child star made life-changing decisions that have allowed her to mature gracefully outside of Hollywood. Her new images at 60 show a lady who has rejected current beauty standards in favor of sincerity and self-acceptance.

A former child actress, best known for her famous performance in “Little House on the Prairie,” has undergone an unexpected life shift. After years in the spotlight and the demands of keeping a young appearance, she took a completely different route.

She left Los Angeles, quit her cosmetic treatments, and relocated to a secluded mountain house. Far from fame and splendor, she began to reconnect with herself and accept the natural aging process. It was a big transition, but it allowed her to prioritize her health and rethink what aging meant to her.

Her career in show business started early. Born in Los Angeles, she began her acting career as a child, performing in commercials. She was nine years old when she earned the part of Laura Ingalls Wilder in “Little House on the Prairie,” which became a smash series.

The show chronicled the Ingalls family’s difficulties and adventures in the nineteenth-century Midwest. It first aired in the mid-1970s and quickly became a fixture on American television. The show’s success helped her launch a glittering Hollywood career.

She would be a fixture on the Hollywood scene for decades, even performing on “Dancing with the Stars” at the age of 47. When asked about her youth in the industry, she stated, “I had an incredible time growing up.”

By the 1980s, she was a recognizable presence on the red carpet, socializing with top stars and dating celebrities such as Billy Idol and Rob Lowe. Her personal life also made news, beginning with her marriage to actor and director Bo Brinkman in 1988. Despite having a child together, the couple’s strained relationship led to their divorce in 1994.

Not long after, she married her second husband, Bruce Boxleitner, a well-known actor best known for his appearances in the “Tron” franchise and several television programs. The two were married for 16 years and had a kid before separating in 2011.

It was a frenetic journey that included both the highs and lows of living in the spotlight. As she grew older, she encountered additional problems. Hollywood’s beauty standards became increasingly challenging to meet, leading her to make decisions she later regretted.

During her early career, the young actress felt pressured to conform to Hollywood’s standards of beauty. Wanting to fit in, she went to cosmetic procedures to seem younger, including breast implants, fillers, and frequent Botox injections.

For a while, it seemed to be an inherent aspect of her job. However, the surgeries began to take their toll on her, both physically and emotionally. “I looked at myself in the mirror several years back,” she said in an interview. “I’d overfilled my face and lips. “My forehead did not move.”

“I was still dyeing my hair red.” I was driving a Mustang convertible.  “I was a size two in an unhealthy way,” she said. “I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that’s not who I was.”

She realized she was striving too fiercely to conform to Hollywood’s restricted concept of youth, even if it no longer felt right to her. “I was stuck,” she said. It wasn’t simply the physical changes that disturbed her; it was the sense of being cut off from her actual self.

In 2013, she bravely decided to leave Los Angeles and its associated lifestyle. This choice signaled the beginning of a huge transition, not only in her looks but in her entire way of life. She realized she wanted a fresh start, free of the constant scrutiny and pressure to seem a particular way.

In 2013, Melissa Gilbert tied the knot for the third time with actor Timothy Busfield. The couple desired a life away from the intense attention of Hollywood, choosing instead the simplicity and slower pace of the Midwest.

Gilbert saw this change as more than simply altering her location; it was an opportunity to restore her sense of self. Gilbert acknowledges her spouse for being a significant supporter during this change.

The transition away from the continual limelight allowed her to organically embrace the aging process. “I had to leave Los Angeles—not Hollywood—to do that,” she told us.

In Michigan, she made a significant step toward this new direction by discontinuing all cosmetic operations. By 2015, she had opted to remove her breast implants, which she regarded as freeing. She also quit dying her signature red hair, allowing her natural gray to show.

“In the five years that I was in Michigan, all of that stopped,” she stated, adding that she had “focused on being as physically and emotionally healthy as I could.”

Gilbert now considers aging a fantastic experience. While she admits the difficulties, such as painful ankles and dry skin, she insists that “aging is not for sissies, but it is certainly better than the alternative.”

She accepted the concept of aging, finding satisfaction in the natural process rather than resisting it. “Yes, I’m aging, but it’s not a curse—it’s a blessing,” she told me. Her stay in Michigan was a watershed moment, allowing her to reset and focus on what was genuinely important to her.

After five calm years in Michigan, Gilbert and Busfield decided to go to New York to continue their quest for a simpler life. In 2018, they discovered a rustic cottage on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains, which was far from fancy but full of possibilities.

The couple affectionately christened their new house “The Cabbage.” It was a fixer-upper that needed extensive repair before it could be livable, but that didn’t stop them.

“We bought this place in the winter of 2018,” Gilbert explained. “There was no heat, and the plumbing was a little faulty.[..] It appeared as though the occupants had recently vacated the house, despite it having been abandoned for decades.

The couple welcomed the process of transforming the cottage into their home. They spent their first night there on a floor mattress, hunched in front of a wood-burning stove for warmth. “I remember thinking, ‘This is home.'” “This is going to be our home,” Gilbert stated.

Over time, they refurbished the room, installing a heating system and doing several repairs. Busfield even tackled the chore of cleaning the ceilings using hydrogen peroxide and Clorox. The work was hard, but it was what they wanted: a project they could do together creating their own home.

The relocation to the Catskills was a continuation of their dedication to living truthfully and adopting a slower, more natural pace of life. Gilbert’s connection to her new surroundings became stronger as she began to cultivate her own food, raise hens, and adopt a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Gilbert discovered a new kind of delight in the Catskills, one based on simplicity and self-sufficiency. Her days are filled with activities that bring her closer to nature and her home, unlike her days in Hollywood.

“It’s not glamorous at all,” she said. “Mornings usually start around 7 a.m. with a cup of tea and some peaceful meditation.” One of her first responsibilities each day is to tend to her hens. Gilbert has thoroughly embraced her duty as caregiver on the tiny farm.

She cleans out the coop, gathers new eggs, and makes sure the “girls,” as she refers to them, get their treats. After she finishes her chores with the hens, she heads to her garden. Gilbert cultivates a variety of vegetables and enjoys monitoring her plants, although she acknowledges the constant need for adjustments or fixes.

Generally, something goes wrong or breaks and requires repair. And we all have projects to begin,” she stated. By late afternoon, she and Busfield had completed their work, taken showers, and settled down for a home-cooked meal before relaxing on the sofa.

Gilbert has also refused to give in to the push for more cosmetic modifications. Instead of spending time in a dermatologist’s office or a stylist’s chair, she now prioritizes living a healthy lifestyle.

“I just take care of myself. I strive to eat healthy. “I drink a lot of water,” she explained. Embracing her natural gray hair, free of colors and treatments, is part of her quest for authenticity. This new way of life has inspired her to launch an initiative to help people enjoy the aging process as she has.

In 2021, Gilbert co-founded Modern Prairie, a lifestyle company catering exclusively to senior women. The goal was to provide a friendly environment in which women could enjoy aging, share their stories, and learn from one another, with a focus on health, well-being, and creativity.

Gilbert collaborated with Nicole Haase, a former Williams Sonoma executive, to bring the initiative to reality. Together, they created a brand that values honesty and connection. They cater to women who, like Gilbert, are dealing with the natural changes of aging.

It is her mission to “support one another as we go through all the incredible changes we are experiencing at this phase in our lives, both physically and emotionally.”

Modern Prairie sells a wide range of things that mirror Gilbert’s personal lifestyle, from home goods to health items. Beyond the goods, the brand offers seminars, community activities, and discussions to help women feel confident in themselves.

It’s a place where women can get together to ask questions and share their experiences; therefore, it reduces the stigma associated with aging.  In addition to its regular products, Modern Prairie has connected itself with issues important to Gilbert’s heart.

For Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in November, the company released a unique collection using the color purple, with all revenues benefiting PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network).

“I finally found my footing as a woman—totally 100 percent powerful in my own knowledge and my own abilities,” she said with pride. “Her brand’s philosophy is a continuation of her Catskills lifestyle, which emphasizes simplicity, self-acceptance, and joy.

Gilbert has frequently mentioned how her friendship with Busfield has been an important aspect of her path. The couple’s relocation to their home in the Catskills drew them closer than before. “I think as I’ve aged, we’ve just fallen more and more in love with one another, which is such an extraordinary gift,” she told me.

Gilbert met a spouse who fully understood and embraced her for who she was. “For him, I am much more myself and so much more comfortable in my own skin,” she went on. It’s a partnership based on mutual respect, understanding, and a shared appreciation for their calmer, more rural existence.

Living in the mountains has allowed them to slow down and enjoy the small things. They’ve discovered enjoyment in the simplicity of ordinary moments, whether it’s watching a sunset on their porch or working together on a home improvement project.

In addition to her successful marriage and new lifestyle, Gilbert has embraced a position she values greatly: grandmotherhood. She brightens up when she talks about her grandchildren, and it’s evident that family is crucial to her happiness now.

“I have nine extraordinary grandchildren,” she said with pride. Despite the distance between her and some of her family members who remain in Los Angeles, she spends as much time as possible with them.

The closeness she has with her grandchildren brings her immense delight, and she frequently shares anecdotes about their memorable experiences together.

Despite becoming a grandmother, Gilbert continues to perform and has several projects lined up. “It just never ends, and I’m thoroughly enjoying my life,” she exclaimed, grinning.

“I don’t think I’ll ever not have ‘Half Pint’ inside of me,” she said, alluding to her popular TV character, Laura Ingalls Wilder. “That little plucky, feisty, fiery girl is still present, and she is the driving force behind everything I do.” Although she occasionally causes me problems, she never departs. I have a young soul and a smart old head.”

Her enthusiasm for life and her strong bond with her family demonstrate this. Gilbert is still as vivacious as she was when she was younger. Her love for her grandkids, as well as the wisdom she has garnered from her experiences, has given her a fresh perspective on what it is to live completely and cheerfully.