Melissa Gilbert is sounding the alarm after the recent deaths of Hayden Panettiere, Daveigh Chase and Michelle Trachtenberg ... saying Hollywood has to do far more to protect child actors once the cameras stop rolling.
The “Little House on the Prairie” alum shared an emotional essay Saturday, saying the losses hit close to home because she sees herself in the women -- all former child performers navigating the harsh realities of growing up in the spotlight.
Hayden’s passed away on August 16 at the age of 36, while Chase -- best known for “The Ring” and “Lilo & Stitch” died in June at 35, and the 'Buffy' and “Gossip Girl” star Trachtenberg died at 39 in 2025.
Gilbert says the industry teaches young actors to work through sickness, injury and emotional pain, recalling she returned to “Little House on the Prairie” shortly after her father died when she was just 11 years old.
She also says she once went back to work just three days after an emergency appendectomy, later landing in the hospital with a fever and close to sepsis.
The actress’s message is simple … child actors should be allowed to be kids and should have access to free mental-health care, stronger protections from exploitation and the ability to say no without being branded difficult.
Gilbert says the recent losses prove something is “very, very wrong” ... and she wants Hollywood’s power players to finally step up.
She solemnly adds she can’t stop thinking about Hayden’s 11-year-old daughter Kaya growing up without her mother ... and says the string of deaths should be a wake-up call for Hollywood.
As we reported, Hayden was found unresponsive in an Airbnb in South Carolina last week, with authorities presuming her cause of death as a possible overdose. The DEA is now involved in the investigation.
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