Melissa Gilbert, best known for playing Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, has discovered she has three older half-brothers from her birth mother's side of the family. The 62-year-old actress, who was adopted at birth, shared the news in an Instagram post on Thursday, stating she plans to tell the full story on Substack.
Family Discovery Through a Cousin
Gilbert wrote that she connected with a fifth biological cousin on her birth mother's side through an app. That cousin, Harry Lee Scott, led her to her biological siblings. “I’d always wished for a big brother and I found out I have three,” Gilbert wrote, tagging her two surviving siblings, Matt and Laird. They had a late brother, Mark.
Gilbert had previously found her birth father's family decades ago, including three older half-siblings, but described those relationships as “fraught” and “full of secrets.” She expressed gratitude for that experience as part of her story.
Brother's Reaction
In his own Instagram post, Matt Tuchscherer wrote that discovering Gilbert was his sister “wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card.” He noted that after 66 years, he learned that he and his brothers Laird and Mark have a biological sister. “Unfortunately Mark is no longer here to share in the excitement, but his son Mark Olson is,” Tuchscherer wrote. He emphasized that the most meaningful part is not that Gilbert is a public figure, but that they found each other after a lifetime apart. He also praised his adopted sister, Marianna, calling her his rock.
Gilbert's Search for Birth Parents
Gilbert has previously discussed her search for her birth parents. In a July 2025 episode of the podcast The Patrick LabyorSheaux, she said she began searching for them and learned that her birth mother, Kathy Wood, was an exotic dancer, and her birth father, David Darlington, was a stock car racer and musician. They were married to other people and “ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert,” Gilbert said, according to PEOPLE. The couple decided to put her up for adoption. Wood died before they could meet, but Darlington recognized her when they met after she asked if he watched Little House on the Prairie.
Gilbert was adopted by Paul Gilbert and Barbara Cowan shortly after birth. She described the reunion as an important part of her story and expressed gratitude for the experience.
