The Stunning Transformation Of Sara Gilbert
Sara Gilbert has been a fixture on television screens since the 1980s, launching her acting career at an age when most kids are still learning to tie their shoes. And while her roster of screen credits is as extensive as it is impressive, Gilbert is best known for two things: playing middle child Darlene Conner on hit sitcom "Roseanne," and co-creating and starring in CBS daytime series "The Talk." She also flexed her muscles behind the scenes as producer on the hit revival of "Roseanne," which, due to some problematic circumstances, morphed into the spinoff series "The Conners."
Discussing the ongoing success of the original show and its new iteration while appearing on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Gilbert wouldn't take credit. "A lot of it is attributable to luck," Gilbert said. "It's just the right group of people and the right chemistry ..."
Of course, as anyone who's ever watched Gilbert onscreen can attest, there's also a whole lot of talent involved, and it's been quite the journey from her early days as a child actor to her current status as a Hollywood mover and shaker, to say nothing of her status as a gay icon. To learn more, read on to experience the stunning transformation of Sara Gilbert.
She followed in the footsteps of her famous sister
Young Sara Gilbert had a role model who steered her toward becoming a child actor: her half-sister, Melissa Gilbert, who booked her first acting role at age 3, and became a star at 9 playing Laura Ingalls on "Little House on the Prairie." Her half-brother, Jonathan Gilbert, also had a role in the show, playing Willie Oleson. Following her siblings' lead, Gilbert likewise became a child actor, landing a Kool-Aid commercial at the age of 6. She followed that by appearing in 1982's "Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang," which aired on "The Magical World of Disney."
Gilbert's older sister isn't the her family connection to showbiz. Her grandfather, Harry Crane, was one of the creators of beloved TV sitcom "The Honeymooners," while her mother, Barbara Cowan, was an actor who went on to become a talent agent.
While some children are pushed into acting by ambitious stage parents, that wasn't the case for Gilbert. "I was dying to do it," she told Entertainment Weekly. "My sister and brother were both in entertainment and I was so determined to do the same thing. They would get gifts from working on sets, especially at Christmas. I wanted in on those presents." Plus, she told Deadline, even as a child she felt that acting was her destiny: "I also just had this overwhelming sense that I was supposed to be an actor; like, I just knew it."
Becoming a child actor saved her life
In addition to receiving presents, another reason behind Sara Gilbert's interest in pursuing acting was the simple fact that it took her out of school. "I was lucky, for me personally, I was so miserable in school and having that life — the creative outlet kind of saved my life in ways," Gilbert told viewers during a 2016 episode of "The Talk," Yahoo! Entertainment reports. However, she also recognized that show business isn't something that would be appropriate for many children — particularly her own. "I've thought about it," she said, explaining why she hadn't guided her kids toward acting.
"I feel like the pressures outweigh — how many people don't do well, how many people die," she said, citing the numerous child stars who encountered immense struggles when, as adults, they were unable to maintain the same success they'd experienced as kids. "The pitfalls are so extreme. Not very many people are able to continue working and I don't want the highlight of their life being when they were 10 years old."
Looking back on her own childhood, Gilbert came to recognize that she possessed a highly unique personality, which allowed her to thrive on film and television sets while being in a classroom environment proved to be stifling. "Honestly, I didn't really love being in regular school," she told Entertainment Weekly, "so anything that put me in a more creative environment was a plus."
Viewers watched Sara Gilbert grow up on television
Sara Gilbert was just 13 when she was cast in the role that would change her life: wisecracking Darlene Conner in "Roseanne," a groundbreaking sitcom that went on to run for nine hit seasons. "The role came naturally to me," Gilbert told Entertainment Weekly. "There was a lot of crossover between me and Darlene." As viewers quickly realized, Gilbert had impeccable comedy timing when she delivered Darlene's now-iconic one-liners. As she told Deadline, it was a skill she developed by insulting her sister. "I remember thinking, 'Oh yeah, I know how to do this,'" she said of her audition.
Appearing on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Gilbert commented on a photo of her 13-year-old self during the first season of "Roseanne." "I was a very young, very awkward person," she said, admitting that going through adolescence on primetime television had its downsides. "It's hard to have your teenage years in front of everybody," she added.
And while it might be easy to assume that experiencing stardom during one's teenage years would be a weird experience, Gilbert insisted that wasn't the case for her, having experienced it vicariously through her siblings. "Fame wasn't that strange to me," she told Deadline. "The only weird thing about being a famous teenager was that it's a really strong juxtaposition between the adoration and attention, and the normal feelings of loneliness and isolation that can come with being a teenager."
She attended Yale while starring in Roseanne
Ahead of the Season 7 premiere of "Roseanne," Sara Gilbert was accepted to Yale, announcing she'd be starting her freshman year that fall. "It just felt like the time to go. I've done my thing here, and I've really had a wonderful experience. I'd like to continue doing ('Roseanne') as much as possible, but also move on to something else," Gilbert told the Los Angeles Times.
While the obvious move would be to write Darlene off the show — say, send the character backpacking in Europe, or even mirror her real-life experience by attending college somewhere far away — "Roseanne" producers came up with an audacious plan that would keep Darlene in the Conner household while allowing Gilbert to go to college. "Our hope is that even though she is away, she'll still be a very important presence in the show," producer Jay Daniels told the Times.
Of course, Daniels and his fellow "Roseanne" producers had to think outside of the box in order to make it work. That included Gilbert taping scenes ahead of time that would then be edited into future episodes, in addition to having the entire cast and crew travel to New York in order to shoot some episodes with Gilbert, who was also enlisted to work during her Christmas and spring breaks. "Just from a logistic standpoint, I was surprised," Gilbert said. "I'm really flattered, and sort of relieved that I'll have the opportunity to do both things."
How kissing her co-star led to an epiphany about her sexuality
During a 2013 edition of "The Talk," Sara Gilbert revealed that she'd first started questioning her sexuality when she and co-star Johnny Galecki — who played her character's boyfriend on "Roseanne" — began dating for real. "I thought he was super cute and had a total crush on him," she said (via the Los Angeles Times), "and we started dating and he would come over and we would make out and then I would start to get depressed."
As she recalled, Galecki felt that he was the problem, not realizing that the real issue was Gilbert's struggle with her own sexuality until she told him the truth. She praised Galecki for keeping her secret for all those years, admitting she was terrified of how the knowledge she was a lesbian would affect her career. "And I just felt so scared if it came out, what could happen. Could I lose my career? Would I ever be able to play a straight role again?" she said.
In fact, Gilbert revealed that she'd called Galecki prior to making her revelation on television to make sure he was okay with her sharing it. "And he was like 'Yeah, no, of course' and 'I love you' and 'I think it's really important' and 'I'm so proud of you,' and he said, 'You know, if you want I'll be there and I'll hold your hand,'" Gilbert said. "I just thought that was so sweet ..."
She starred in some movies
While "Roseanne" was in the midst of its run, Sara Gilbert began pursuing movie roles. The first of these was the 1990 TV movie "Sudie and Simpson," followed by the big-screen thriller "Poison Ivy" in 1992, starring opposite Drew Barrymore. Even though she and Barrymore were more or less the same age, and had both been child stars, the lives that they'd lived up to that point had been worlds apart. "I knew she lived sort of a fast life at the time," Gilbert told Entertainment Weekly. "I was a teenager and that was intriguing to me to find out about all this world experience that she had. And then, she has so much heart. We hit it off right away."
Next came a small role in 1994's "Dead Beat." After "Roseanne" ended, she appeared in several more films, including "Light It Up," "High Fidelity," then reunited with Barrymore in 2001's "Riding in Cars with Boys."
Acclaimed director Stephen Frears cast her "High Fidelity," she told EW, because he'd been impressed with one of her non-"Roseanne" performances, but was unfamiliar with her most iconic role. "I was like, that is so bizarre that this huge director wants to cast me," she recalled. "He had no idea what 'Roseanne' was or didn't recognize me from that at all. I remember being excited that someone liked something else that I did because I was mainly known for 'Roseanne.'"
Sara Gilbert attempted a few TV comebacks
In 2000, Sara Gilbert returned to television in the sitcom "Welcome to New York." For Gilbert, who literally grew up cracking jokes in front of a live studio audience, returning to the four-camera comedy format brought her back to familiar ground. "I really like having that live audience and having a place that feels like a regular workplace," she told Entertainment Weekly. There was another aspect of television that she preferred over film work. "It's sad when you do movies and a few months later say goodbye to everybody," she said. "Not that that couldn't happen with this show, but at least there's a chance you'll be together for a few years."
Sadly, that wasn't the case with "Welcome to New York," which didn't make it beyond its first season. Gilbert, however, kept plugging away. In addition to an array of TV guest spots, she had a multi-episode story arc in "24," then joined the hit medical drama "ER" in the recurring role of medical student Jane Figler. In 2005, she co-starred with Molly Stanton in the sitcom "Twins," with the two playing polar-opposite twin sisters. Like her previous series, "Twins" was not invited back for a second season.
In 2014, Gilbert joined "Bad Teacher," a TV adaptation of the Cameron Diaz-starring movie of the same name. She played nerdy schoolteacher Irene Dudek in the series, which, like her previous TV comedies, was quickly cancelled.
She and partner Allison Adler had two children
During those years jumping from show to show, Sara Gilbert kept her personal life as private as possible. A big reason for that was that she was in a long-term relationship with Allison Adler. The couple eventually had two children together.
Unlike Gilbert, Adler's Hollywood vocation is more behind-the-scenes as a writer and producer, with credits including "Just Shoot Me," "Family Guy," "Supergirl," and "Glee." Adler and GIlbert reportedly began dating in 2001, but announced they were separating in 2011 after a decade as a couple. "It's completely amicable," Gilbert's rep told People (via the New York Daily News) of the split.
Gilbert was clearly stung by the breakup when she broke down in tears during a subsequent episode of "The Talk," during a segment in which she and her co-hosts debated the pros and cons of marriage. "I feel like I don't know if marriage is all it's cracked up to be," Gilbert said, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "I've never been married, but I was in a long relationship ... It's emotional for me, because we're not together. I wouldn't trade that time, it's such a special time in my life. But then you see people in their 70s and you wonder how do they do it? How do they make it last? And I would like to think that I can."
She came out as openly gay
Despite being in a long and committed relationship with a woman, Sara Gilbert never publicly addressed her sexuality until 2010. During a session with the press promoting a new television project during the Television Critics Association press tour, Gilbert confirmed what had been something of an open secret by officially coming out as gay.
"This is a whole new world for me," she said, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. "I'm not an expert on this, or I don't analyze these things. I'm just sort of living my life." As she explained, she had a tendency to take a pragmatic approach when it came to sharing details about her personal life. "I don't ever really think of things as out or in," she said. "I just think I am who I am ..."
Interestingly enough, the first time Gilbert kissed someone of her own sex was when she locked lips with Drew Barrymore while filming "Poison Ivy." "Well, we were supposed to kiss in the movie, but then we started practicing in the trailer, which was kind of fun," Barrymore revealed when Gilbert guested on "The Drew Barrymore Show." "We had to practice, right?" Gilbert quipped. "It was really just us doing research."
Sara Gilbert shifted gears with The Talk
The reason that Sara Gilbert decided to come out while promoting a TV show had to do with the nature of that show, which was very different from anything that she'd ever done as an actor: "The Talk," an all-female daytime talk show. Not only was Gilbert one of the co-hosts — alongside, initially, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, and Leah Remini — she was also the series' creator and driving force. "So obviously, I'm going to be discussing my life more, and I felt that the first place I wanted to do it wasn't in a CBS press release," she said of coming out in front of a roomful of TV critics, via Entertainment Weekly. "It just seemed impersonal, and I felt like I'd rather come in person and talk to you about all that stuff here."
Hosting a talk show, she admitted during an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," was antithetical to her tendency toward privacy, to say nothing of her natural shyness. "I actually went into the network, and I said, 'I'm worried you guys are gonna buy it, because I'm not sure how I feel.' You know, when you're facing your fears, when you face them, it's gonna pick up steam, and that's what happened ... But it is liberating, right, once you face your fears. It is empowering."
She married rock star Linda Perry
It wasn't long after Sara Gilbert's split from Allison Adler that she began dating Linda Perry, former frontwoman of rock band 4 Non Blondes and songwriter behind such hits as Alicia Keys' "Superwoman," Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?" and Christina Aguilera's "Hurt."
In 2014, the two tied the knot, with Gilbert sharing her feelings about being married during a subsequent episode of "The Talk." "You feel like you're part of this institution, and official and, 'Oh, I better not mess this up,'" she said, as detailed by People. "You feel safer in a way and you feel like you've really committed and it's not about, can I deal with this or not deal with it. It becomes, how will we deal with our relationship together?" The following year, the couple welcomed a son, Rhodes Emilio Gilbert Perry.
Sadly, the marriage ended in 2019 when Gilbert filed for legal separation from Perry. It took nearly two years for the exes to finalized the divorce, which was settled in October 2021. Perry took a philosophical approach to looking back at their failed marriage. "I'm still on an incredible adventure with Sara. I love her. I adore her," Perry told Page Six in 2020, while details of the divorce were still being worked out. "We have a beautiful child together. So that journey's not ended, it's evolved into something else."
She returned to Roseanne, as both star and producer
While "The Talk" became a hit on CBS daytime, Sara Gilbert had her sights set on another project: a new revival of "Roseanne." This time out, Gilbert wasn't just an actor for hire, she was part of the creative process as a full-fledged producer. She would also return to the role of Darlene, while the entire original cast returned — including Roseanne Barr and John Goodman reprising their roles as Roseanne and Dan Conner. With both the risks and rewards high, fears that the revived "Roseanne" would tarnish the reputation of the original were quashed when the first episode aired in 2018, earning rave reviews and record-breaking ratings. In fact, AdWeek reported that "Roseanne" was the most-watched TV series of the year, averaging 20 million viewers per episode and topping the likes of "Sunday Night Football," "The Big Bang Theory," and "NCIS."
That success was both unprecedented and unexpected. As a result, ABC quickly announced that a second season had been ordered. Bringing the rebooted "Roseanne" to the screen was no easy feat, and much of the credit lay with Gilbert for spearheading the effort. "I think I've got a lot of tenacity," she told Variety. "If people tell me I can't do something, I just keep trying for years. I don't think I'm naturally successful. I just don't give up and don't quit till something happens."
She cut ties with her TV mom due to Roseanne Barr's controversial statements
The success of the "Roseanne" reboot came to a screeching halt due to a single tweet from Roseanne Barr, who wrote that former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett — a Black woman — was the result of "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby." That tweet was quickly condemned as racist, and ABC immediately cancelled the show. "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values," said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey in a statement, per the New York Times.
Sara Gilbert also condemned Barr. "Roseanne's recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show," Gilbert tweeted. "I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."
In a 2019 interview with the Washington Post, Barr placed the blame for her firing squarely on Gilbert. "She destroyed the show and my life with that tweet," Barr said. In a 2023 interview with SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show," Barr continued to hold a grudge, still blaming Gilbert for throwing her under the bus. "It wasn't enough that she stabbed me in the back and did what she did to me there," Barr said. "But then she would go on her talk show every day and talk about how shocked she was at my racism on top of it."
Sara Gilbert experienced further sitcom success by revamping Roseanne into The Conners, but had to quit The Talk
The cancellation of "Roseanne" wasn't the end of the show, however. ABC announced it was ordering a full season of "The Conners," a Barr-free version of the hit revival. "I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from 'Roseanne,'" Barr said in a statement, per Variety, claiming she agreed to allow the series to continue without her to save the jobs of the cast and crew. In the debut, viewers learned Barr's character had been killed off via accidental opioid overdose.
During an April 2019 episode of "The Talk," Sara Gilbert announced she was leaving the talk show to focus on her dual role as producer and star of "The Conners." "This is something I have been struggling with for a while, and going back and forth, but I've decided it's time for me to leave the show," she said, as reported by Deadline.
"The Conners" remained a hit. In May 2023, the series was renewed for a sixth season, which series showrunner Bruce Helford hinted could be its last. "Sara Gilbert expressed to the network that we don't want to go out without knowing that we are going out with a series finale so we can build to the right ending — and at this point in time, we feel that [next season] is possibly going to be the last season of 'The Conners,'" Helford told TVLine.