Melissa Gilbert Calls for Better Protections for Child Actors After Recent Deaths

Melissa Gilbert is calling for stronger protections and support for child actors following the recent deaths of former child performers Hayden Panettiere, Daveigh Chase and Michelle Trachtenberg.

In an essay published Aug. 22, the 62-year-old former “Little House on the Prairie” star said the deaths felt personal because she had experienced many of the same pressures as a child actor.

Gilbert argued that Hollywood often expects young performers to work through illness, injury and emotional trauma. She recalled returning to work shortly after her father died when she was 11 and later continuing to film after an emergency appendectomy. She said she eventually became seriously ill with a high fever and was hospitalized with a condition that was close to sepsis.

“These young professionals are children, and we should make sure they are allowed to be children,” Gilbert wrote. She said child actors should be able to say no, receive mental health support and avoid being pressured to support their families financially.

Gilbert proposed that studio and network executives discuss ways to reduce exploitation. She also called for free mental health services for child actors and greater protection from intrusive media attention.

Her comments come as her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, faces criminal charges in New Mexico. He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor. His trial is scheduled for May 2027.

Gilbert has said she believes Busfield will be exonerated and that justice would include an apology.