Melissa Gilbert captured our attention as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the classic NBC series Little House on the Prairie. Though it wasn’t her first role, it was the one that catapulted her to fame. When the show ended its 10-year run, Gilbert did voice work, appeared in a number of TV films, and even competed on season 14 of Dancing with the Stars.

In 2016, Democrat Gilbert — who served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005 — ran for Congress representing Michigan’s 8th district. The actress won the Democratic primary but had to withdraw her bid on the advice of her doctor due to numerous head and neck injuries sustained in 2012. (She suffered from whiplash and a concussion caused by a fall on Dancing With the Stars, and then, a few months later, a balcony collapsed over her head!)