Melissa Gilbert fiercely advocated for child stars to be protected after Hayden Panettiere tragically died last week
“Within one year, Michelle Trachtenberg, Daveigh Chase and Hayden Panettiere have died,” the “Little House on the Prairie” alum wrote via a Substack essay titled “Enough Is Enough.”
“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?”
The producer, 62, admitted that though she didn’t know Panettiere personally, she briefly worked with both Trachtenberg and Chase.
Trachtenberg died at age 39 in February 2025 from complications of diabetes mellitus, while Chase died on June 16 at the age of 36 from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
As for Panettiere, she was found dead on Aug. 16 at a Greenville, South Carolina, Airbnb she was staying at with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson. She was 36.
Gilbert said she takes the deaths personally because it feels like she “was them.” She then listed several other former child stars, including Brooke Shields, Dakota Fanning, Ellie Fanning and Drew Barrymore “to name a few.”
“We are all members of the same tribe; Female Former Child Performers, and when one of us dies, it runs through all of us like an electrical current,” she penned. “When three of us die so close together, something is very, very wrong.”
The former “When Calls the Heart” actress explained how she and former child stars “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,” she added. “My thinking is that it is tied to the invention of the mobile phone.”
Gilbert argued that actors suffer from a lack of privacy while out in public and in the media, posing the question, “How do we fix or end this before someone else dies?”
She also got candid about growing up in the entertainment industry and on the “Little House on the Prairie,” writing, “I can’t tell you how many times I worked while horribly sick, injured or worse.”
The “When We Last Spoke” star explained how her father died when she was 11 years old and how she returned to work “within months.”
“And not one single adult on that set discussed it with me or offered condolences,” Gilbert, who portrayed Laura Ingalls on the beloved western series, added. “I later found out that the fear was I would become too upset to work. I was eleven, 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.”
Gilbert suggested that all former child stars should come together to “enact real, substantive change,” explaining that free mental health resources for actors should be a top priority.
She concluded her emotional essay, sharing that she has “an image” of Panettiere’s 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, growing up without her mom.
The pre-teen has grown up in Ukraine with her father, Wladimir Klitschko, after the late actress gave up custody in 2018 due to her ongoing battle with postpartum depression and addiction. However, Panettiere maintained a strong bond with Kaya and often visited with her.
“And now I am weeping as I type this and I just want to scream from the rooftops,” Gilbert signed off, adding, “ENOUGH!”
Gilbert’s passionate essay came after her husband, Timothy Busfield, 69, was charged in a child sex abuse case back in June.
On Jan. 13, the “West Wing” actor was arrested on charges of criminal sexual contact of a minor and child from incidents with two twin boy child stars dating back to 2022.
Busfield denied the allegations against him, telling police at the time of his arrest that it was “highly likely that he would have” had contact with the two victims, who were 7 years old at the time.
Gilbert has stood by the “Thirtysomething” star’s side, with her rep previously telling Page Six, “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time.”
She also claimed that Busfield was “the last person in the world who would hurt a child,” telling “Good Morning America” in April that she was “100% confident” he would be exonerated.
Busfield will go to trial in May 2027.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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