Melissa Gilbert sent an emotional call to action regarding child actresses after Hayden Panettiere's death.
On Saturday, August 22, the former Little House on the Prairie child actress posted a lengthy Substack update addressing the deaths of Panettiere at 36 in August 2026, Michelle Trachtenberg at 39 in February 2025, and Daveigh Chase at 35 in June 2026.
"How is it possible that no one in the mainstream media has picked up on this?" Gilbert, 62, began her post. "… Three former female child actors of the same generation are gone. Tragically, heartbreakingly, agonizingly too soon."
She continued, "They are gone, and the question I have been turning over and over in my head is, 'WHY?' Why are these three sweet, wildly talented, vibrant, vital young women gone? And why does this all feel so personal to me? I did not know Hayden personally and only worked briefly with Mishy and Daveigh. It feels personal because I was them. As were Tatum, Kristy, Brooke, Patty, Anyssa, Dakota, Elle, Shirley, Britney, Jodie, Drew, and my sister, Sara, to name a few."
Gilbert called the women "members of the same tribe," declaring, "When one of us dies, it runs through all of us like an electrical current. When three of us die so close together, something is very, very wrong."
#child
On Saturday, August 22, the former Little House on the Prairie child actress posted a lengthy Substack update addressing the deaths of Panettiere at 36 in August 2026, Michelle Trachtenberg at 39 in February 2025, and Daveigh Chase at 35 in June 2026.
"How is it possible that no one in the mainstream media has picked up on this?" Gilbert, 62, began her post. "… Three former female child actors of the same generation are gone. Tragically, heartbreakingly, agonizingly too soon."
She continued, "They are gone, and the question I have been turning over and over in my head is, 'WHY?' Why are these three sweet, wildly talented, vibrant, vital young women gone? And why does this all feel so personal to me? I did not know Hayden personally and only worked briefly with Mishy and Daveigh. It feels personal because I was them. As were Tatum, Kristy, Brooke, Patty, Anyssa, Dakota, Elle, Shirley, Britney, Jodie, Drew, and my sister, Sara, to name a few."
Gilbert called the women "members of the same tribe," declaring, "When one of us dies, it runs through all of us like an electrical current. When three of us die so close together, something is very, very wrong."
#child
2 days ago
