Melissa Gilbert Guest-Starred On A Hit Sci-Fi Show With Then-Husband Bruce Boxleitner
Back in the mid-'90s, "When Calls the Heart" and "Little House on the Prairie" star Melissa Gilbert made a noteworthy appearance in the cult classic space opera "Babylon 5" — and there was more to her role on the show than met the eye.
Gilbert guest-starred as Anna Sheridan in two episodes of "Babylon 5" Season 3, which aired in 1996. The wife of John Sheridan, who was played by Gilbert's then-husband Bruce Boxleitner, Anna is initially believed to have been killed during an archeological mission. When she reappears near the end of Season 3, she operates undercover at the behest of the Shadows. In the Season 3 finale, Anna brings John to Z'ha'dum, where the Shadows fail to trap him. Instead, John detonates an explosive-rigged ship in the city, killing Anna.
Anna had originally been portrayed by Beth Toussaint in "Babylon 5" Season 2, Episode 2, before Gilbert took over the role beside her real-life husband. Gilbert and Boxleitner tied the knot in 1995; that same year, they welcomed a son, Michael Boxleitner. Their marriage lasted 16 years before Gilbert filed for divorce in 2011, five months after she and Boxleitner publicly separated.
What did Melissa Gilbert think about the sci-fi genre?
Even though her time on "Babylon 5" was brief, Melissa Gilbert stood out in the minds of fans — many of whom have remarked on her connection to Bruce Boxleitner. "It was more fun that it was his actual wife," one user posted on Reddit.
During a 2022 interview with Walnut Groovy, Gilbert provided some insight into her experience with sci-fi fandoms, given her marriage to Boxleitner and her stint on "Babylon 5" over two decades earlier. "The fans are super-devoted," she said. "Having been married to a sci-fi guy in my past, I've been to sci-fi conventions, and like, the sci-fi fans and the stars are very... There's a symmetry, but also a distance between the stars and the fandom."
Gilbert hasn't done much sci-fi outside of "Babylon 5," as her only other credit in the genre came in a Season 4 episode of the anthology series "The Outer Limits" in 1998. The actress currently lives in a realm far away from "Babylon 5" and sci-fi, most recently playing Georgie McGill in Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart" during that show's twelfth and thirteenth seasons — although she won't be returning for Season 14.