11 Celebrities Who Got Their Start as Child Stars on “The Little House on the Prairie”

Before they dominated our film and TV screens, these stars got their start as mere children on ‘The Little House on the Prairie’

Over 50 years after its premiere, Little House on the Prairie remains a fan-favorite show among audiences.

Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books of the same name, the show followed the lives of people in the American Midwest in the late 1800s and touched on real-life issues such as racism, mental health, child loss, disability and more. The show is so impactful that Netflix created a new adaptation, released on the streaming platform on July 9.

Throughout its original nine-season tenure on NBC, the series also housed some of the budding talent of the time, who we now know as household names. From Jason Bateman to Shannen Doherty to Kyle Richards, see some of the celebrities who got their start as child stars on The Little House on the Prairie.

01 of 11

Jason Bateman

These days, Jason Bateman is known for playing the straight man in comedies such as Game Night, Identity Thief, Horrible Bosses and more. However, long before he was a movie star, the actor was cutting his teeth on Little House, playing James Cooper Ingalls, the second adopted child of Caroline and Charles.

He would snag more roles in the years following, starring in sitcoms like Silver Spoons, It’s Your Move and The Hogan Family. In 2003, he landed the role of Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, which earned him two Emmy nominations. He got his first Emmy win in 2019, for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series on Ozark, in which he also starred.

Bateman has been married to wife Amanda Anka since 2001. The couple shares two daughters, Francesca Nora and Maple Sylvie.

02 of 11

Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls

Melissa Gilbert was only nine years old when she was cast as Laura, the second oldest of the Ingalls siblings. She would play the role for the show’s entire nine-season run and even reprised the role in TV three movies. After the show wrapped, Gilbert continued to grow her career and landed roles in series and movies such as Sweet Justice, Switched at Birth, Touched by an Angel, Thicker than Water and When Calls the Heart.

Gilbert has two sons: Dakota Paul, whom she welcomed with her first husband, Bo Brinkman and Michael, whom she shares with her second husband Bruce Boxleitner.

Gilbert married her current husband and The West Wing actor Timothy Busfield in 2013. On Jan. 9, 2026, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest alleging that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys. On Jan. 13, the actor turned himself in to authorities and was taken into custody.

On Feb. 6, a grand jury indicted the actor on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, according to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman. He pleaded not guilty later that month and a trial date was set for May 2027.

Gilbert has stood by her husband’s side, telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, “Our life as we knew it is done. We are grieving what we had — all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects.”

She continued, “For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy. [He’s] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison.”

03 of 11

Melissa Sue Anderson

Melissa Sue Anderson already had credits in The Brady Bunch and Shaft prior to playing Mary Ingalls — the oldest sibling of the Ingalls bunch — on Little House on the Prairie. Following her seven-season tenure on the show, Anderson snagged roles in projects such as The Suicide Club, The Equalizer, Thin Ice, Partners and more.

Anderson was married to writer and producer Michael Sloan for 35 years until his death in 2025. They shared two children named Piper and Griffin.

04 of 11

Matthew Labyorteaux

Matthew Labyorteaux played Albert Quinn Ingalls, the adopted son of Charles and Caroline and a character created for the series. After Little House, Labyorteaux also lent his talents to Whiz Kids, Night Court and voiced Jaden Yuki in several installments of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise.

Labyorteaux married his wife, Leslie, in 2020 and is the stepfather to her two children.

05 of 11

Shannen Doherty

Before she became one of the biggest stars of the ‘90s and ‘00s, 11-year-old Shannen Doherty starred as Jenny Wilder in the final season of Little House on the Prairie. Eight years later, she would step into the shoes of the iconic Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, which she played for four seasons. Doherty landed another hit a few years later, playing Prue Halliwell in The WB’s Charmed and even directing a few episodes of the show.

In 2015, the actress revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she went into remission in 2017. The cancer returned in 2019 at stage 4 and spread to her bones and brain. Doherty died on July 14, 2024. She was 53.

06 of 11

David Faustino

Six-year-old David Faustino delivered a poignant performance as Josh, a young, mute orphan boy who runs away from his home to avoid being separated from his sibling by the adoption system, in a 1980 episode of the show.

Years later, Faustino would land his breakthrough role, playing Bud Bundy on Married … with Children for 11 seasons. He also forged a successful voice acting career for himself, lending his talents to shows like Batman Beyond, What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, The Legend of Korra, Dragons: Race to the Edge and more.

The super-private actor shares two children with wife Lindsay Bronson.

07 of 11

Peter Billingsley

Peter Billingsley was nine years old when he guest starred on Little House, playing Gideon, a boy who was bullied by his classmates for having a stutter.

Three years after his Little House appearance, Billingsley landed the role of Ralphie Parker in 1983’s A Christmas Story, which immediately became a holiday season must-watch. Billingsley also found success behind the camera. He directed six episodes of Sullivan & Son and the film Couples Retreat and has also served as producer on Undeniable with Joe Buck, F Is for Family, Sullivan & Son, Dinner for Five and Iron Man, among other notable works.

Billingsley has been married to wife Elizabeth “Buffy” Bains since 2015 and the private pair share two kids.

08 of 11

Alison Arngrim

At 12 years old, Alison Arngrim managed to convince the world that she was a mean girl, playing Nellie Oleson, the on-screen nemesis to Melissa Gilbert’s character. And while she played the role well, the actress revealed the fame that came with being a child actor was too much.

“When you look at what an adult goes through — going into show business, sudden loss of privacy, becoming very famous, stalkers, craziness — think about that happening when you’re nine,” she told PEOPLE in 2024.

“You’re still learning,” she continued. “Imagine you haven’t gotten to long division yet. You’re learning basic math and learning to read, and you now need to deal with what the National Enquirer thinks about you.”

She left the show after seven seasons, though it was still hard to shed the “bad girl” image that had defined her character. She stepped away from the limelight, but continued to pick up roles now and again, lending her talents to projects such as CPR Talent Agency, Life Interrupted, Livin’ on a Prairie, and most recently, Buster Brooks. In 2010, she released her memoir, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.

09 of 11

Kyle Richards

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills viewers would not be surprised to learn that Kyle Richards had a flair for drama at a young age. The reality TV star had a recurring role as Alicia Sanderson Edwards in 18 episodes across several seasons of the show. But Little House on the Prairie is hardly the only iconic piece of television Richards lent her acting chops to. She also has credits in Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, ER, Chips, Days of Our Lives and more. In 1978, she played Lindsey in the first Halloween film, a role she reprised in 2021’s Halloween Kills and 2022’s Halloween Ends.

Kyle has been married to husband Mauricio Umansky since 1996; the pair, who raised their four kids together, have been separated since 2023, though neither party has filed for divorce.

10 of 11

Kim Richards

Kyle’s big sister Kim Richards also got some screen time on Little House in her younger years. The RHOBH alum played a girl named Olga Nordstrom in one episode of the show. Prior to that, she had played Prudence in 54 episodes of The Nanny and the Professor and would go on to rack up credits in Diff’rent Strokes, James at 16, Magnum P.I. and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

Kim has four children: Brooke Ashley Brinson, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Monty Brinson; Whitney Nicole and Chad Austin Davis, whom she shares with her second ex-husband, Gregg Davis; as well as Kimberly Collette Jackson, whom she welcomed with ex-boyfriend John Jackson.

11 of 11

Todd Bridges

A year before he got his big break on Diff’rent Strokes, Todd Bridges stole the hearts of Americans playing Solomon Henry, a young boy who runs away from his family’s farm to Walnut Grove and sheds light on the prejudice he faces because of his skin color.

Bridges would, of course, become renowned as Willis on Diff’rent Strokes and he’d snag roles in other series and movies such as The Waterfront, The Ben Stiller Show, Alien Express, Everybody Hates Chris and many more.

Bridges tied the knot to designer Bettijo B. Hirschi in 2022. He has a son, Spencir, and daughter, Bo, from a previous relationship, while Hirschi has four children of her own.

Read the full article here