Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Melissa Gilbert Shares Bold Opinion on Leaving Hollywood
Actress Melissa Gilbert is known for her portrayal of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the NBC series Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983, but she recently opened up about what led her to leave Hollywood in 2013.
The 60-year-old revealed the main reason for the decision while speaking with Page Six, declaring that Hollywood is “so anti-aging.”
Gilbert decided to move from Los Angeles to New York City because "I just didn’t feel like that was a safe place for me to age. It’s so anti-aging, which is one of my least favorite expressions in the world. Anti-aging means dead."
She added that there was strong pressure on her in Hollywood to "not get any older and stay a size 2 or 4 or whatever [she] was at that time.”
Thankfully, it appeared that the move to New York City was the right decision for the actress, as she spoke about the stark change in attitude that came with the new environment.
"I went from, ‘Oh God, I better not get older!’ to ‘Oh God, I’m so glad I’m older!' I love the age I am right now,” she explained to the publication. "Sixty has been the most incredible year, just to look back on all the things I’ve done and to know that I’ve earned my opinions, I have value, I am wise."
But Gilbert still has love for her former home of Los Angeles, talking about the devastation of the wildfires right now. "I did not realize the depth of love that I have for my hometown until the wildfires...It’s devastating and I do love so much about Los Angeles."
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Gilbert is still a working actress and will star in the off-Broadway play Still opposite Mark Moses when it returns in February.
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