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\n Related: <\/span>Melissa Gilbert Mourns Daveigh Chase After Her Death: \u2018Truly Heartbroken\u2019<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tMelissa Gilbert is paying tribute to former costar Daveigh Chase after her death. \u201cThis is the @daveighchase.official I knew,\u201d Gilbert, 62, wrote via Instagram on Monday, June 29, sharing a photo of Chase as a child. \u201cI shot a pilot for a series with her 20+ years ago. Two wonderful humans @thejackcoleman and @kevinzegers1984 played [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Gilbert famously starred as Laura Ingalls on the hit TV series Little House on the Prairie<\/em><\/a> from 1974 to 1983 and starting at just 10 years old. She later became the youngest person at the time to secure a star on Hollywood\u2019s iconic Walk of Fame. (Gilbert most recently made headlines for fiercely supporting her husband Timothy Busfield<\/strong> <\/a>was arrested and charged with child sex abuse<\/a> after alleged altercations with two male child actors. Busfield, 69, has denied the allegations<\/a>, pleaded not guilty and has filed a motion to quash the grand jury indictment<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n![\"GettyImages-2256777677melissagilbertchildactordeaths.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2256777677melissagilbertchildactordeaths.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Melissa Gilbert<\/span> Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile speaking about the death of three young women actors in such quick succession, Gilbert blamed an overwhelming lack of privacy for the apparent epidemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know the stories of how the entertainment industry uses, abuses, exploits and then throws away its youngest, but for some reason, this trend is getting worse,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMy thinking is that it is tied to the invention of the mobile phone. Once a VIP area, lung or anything meant privacy. We could travel to restaurants, events, clubs, etc. and go through the paparazzi into a safe zone. The invention of the mobile phone with camera obliterated that. No everyone is a paparazzo. There is no privacy. What\u2019s worse, is that what was once kept private is now exploited and sold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert also blamed the unrealistic and unsustainable expectations placed on child actors, drawing on her own experience on the Little House on the Prairie<\/em> set.<\/p>\n\u201cOne of the most universal assets and ultimate liabilities I hear about child actors is that they, \u2018Deliver no matter what.\u2019 They are referred to as \u2018soldiers,\u2019 \u2018Machines,\u2019 \u2018Pros.\u2019 Saying \u2018no\u2019 is something child actors are discouraged from doing. Lest they seem difficult,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAnd then, there\u2019s the \u2018Doctor Show Syndrome.\u2019 That\u2019s the thing that kicks in and enables us to perform when we are sick both physically and emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times I worked while horribly sick, injured or worse. My father died when I was just 11 years old and I was back working on Little House<\/em> within months. And not one single adult on that set discussed it with me or offered condolences. I later found out that the fear was I would become too upset to work. I was 11, my Daddy had just died and I was shattered. Thank God my character cried in every single episode. That, as twisted as it sounds, was my therapy. My release.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n![\"Anna-Paquin-GettyImages-2136508757\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Anna-Paquin-GettyImages-2136508757.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1333px%2C753px&resize=400%2C225&quality=70&strip=all\")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
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\n Related: <\/span>Anna Paquin Recalls Dangers of Childhood Fame: ‘We Were Not as Protected’<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tAnna Paquin is looking back at the dangers of childhood stardom. \u201cIt\u2019s not a coincidence that so many former, specially pre-sexualized female \u2018child stars\u2019 have profoundly sad lives and untimely ends,\u201d Paquin, 44, wrote via Instagram on Friday, August 21, reflecting on her experience as a child actress. \u201cWe were not as protected by the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Gilbert then gave a shout out to Anna Paquin<\/strong><\/a>, who issued a call to action among her fellow child actors in the wake of Panettiere, Trachtenberg and Chase\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
\n\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-wide.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n Melissa Gilbert<\/span> Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
While speaking about the death of three young women actors in such quick succession, Gilbert blamed an overwhelming lack of privacy for the apparent epidemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know the stories of how the entertainment industry uses, abuses, exploits and then throws away its youngest, but for some reason, this trend is getting worse,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMy thinking is that it is tied to the invention of the mobile phone. Once a VIP area, lung or anything meant privacy. We could travel to restaurants, events, clubs, etc. and go through the paparazzi into a safe zone. The invention of the mobile phone with camera obliterated that. No everyone is a paparazzo. There is no privacy. What\u2019s worse, is that what was once kept private is now exploited and sold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert also blamed the unrealistic and unsustainable expectations placed on child actors, drawing on her own experience on the Little House on the Prairie<\/em> set.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most universal assets and ultimate liabilities I hear about child actors is that they, \u2018Deliver no matter what.\u2019 They are referred to as \u2018soldiers,\u2019 \u2018Machines,\u2019 \u2018Pros.\u2019 Saying \u2018no\u2019 is something child actors are discouraged from doing. Lest they seem difficult,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAnd then, there\u2019s the \u2018Doctor Show Syndrome.\u2019 That\u2019s the thing that kicks in and enables us to perform when we are sick both physically and emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued, \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times I worked while horribly sick, injured or worse. My father died when I was just 11 years old and I was back working on Little House<\/em> within months. And not one single adult on that set discussed it with me or offered condolences. I later found out that the fear was I would become too upset to work. I was 11, my Daddy had just died and I was shattered. Thank God my character cried in every single episode. That, as twisted as it sounds, was my therapy. My release.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnna Paquin is looking back at the dangers of childhood stardom. \u201cIt\u2019s not a coincidence that so many former, specially pre-sexualized female \u2018child stars\u2019 have profoundly sad lives and untimely ends,\u201d Paquin, 44, wrote via Instagram on Friday, August 21, reflecting on her experience as a child actress. \u201cWe were not as protected by the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gilbert then gave a shout out to Anna Paquin<\/strong><\/a>, who issued a call to action among her fellow child actors in the wake of Panettiere, Trachtenberg and Chase\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Anna Paquin Recalls Dangers of Childhood Fame: ‘We Were Not as Protected’<\/span><\/a>
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