Melissa Gilbert is best known for playing Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. She was only 9 years old when she became super famous. Later in life, Melissa wrote a memoir and shared tons of fun stories from the set of the iconic show. In one story, she recalls how she started rebelling when she turned 18 years old.
For her entire childhood, she obviously worked and her mother was very much in control of everything. Melissa wrote that her “mother was at the helm of everything, including my career, my food intake, and how I dressed—my whole life. For my first couple of decades, there was fairy dust sprinkled over everything in my life courtesy of my mother. According to her, and via her, through the press, everything was sparkly, beautiful, and perfect.”
This is how Melissa Gilbert rebelled when she turned 18
She continued, “At my house, the lights went out much earlier [during sleepovers] and my TV intake was carefully monitored for age appropriateness. My mom had a long list of rules that were impossible to explain to my friends. Among others, she didn’t believe girls should wear black or get their ears pierced until they were eighteen. I still haven’t figured that one out, though I lived by it.”
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So, when she turned 18 years old she pierced her right ear and her left ear three times. As far as rebelling goes, that isn’t too bad but definitely a fun piece of trivia!