Melissa Gilbert

She named her son after Michael Landon, her mentor on Little House. Harper was born in Suffern, New York. She is the older half-sister of Roseanne star Sara Gilbert. Harper has worked almost exclusively in television, and has also had roles in made-for-TV-movies and guest spots on a number of series, including Sex and the City. Gilbert is married to Bruce Boxleitner. (It was renamed Valerie's Family in 1987 and later The Hogan Family after Harper left the series and was replaced by Sandy Duncan). As a former child actor, she is best known for her role of Laura Ingalls on the television series Little House on the Prairie and for her term as president of the Screen Actors Guild which she won after a bitter election with Valerie Harper. She also played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on the 1980s sitcom Valerie.

Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress. Harper won four Emmy awards and a Golden Globe for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern on both series. Harper is best known for her portrayal of the wise-cracking yet vulnerable Rhoda Morgenstern on two CBS television sitcoms of the 1970s: The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, in which she played the title role. Valerie Harper (born August 22, 1940) is an American actress.