Sara Gilbert
Sara Gilbert (born
Sara Rebecca Abeles on
January 29,
1975 in
Santa Monica,
California) is an
American actress best known for her longtime role as Darlene Conner-Healy from
1988-
1997 in the U.S.
sitcom Roseanne.
Gilbert was born in
Los Angeles, California, to a
Jewish family. Her parents are Barbara Crane and Harold Abeles. She has two older siblings,
Melissa Gilbert (of
Little House on the Prairie (
1974-
1983) fame) and
Jonathan Gilbert (who played Willie Olsen on
Little House on the Prairie, now a New York stock broker), whom her mother adopted with her first husband. Sara Abeles became an actress and in
1984 changed her surname to Gilbert (to gain notoriety off her older sister and brother's Gilbert name) becoming "Sara Gilbert."
Gilbert decided at a young age that she wanted to be an actress after seeing her older sister
Melissa Gilbert star in
Little House on the Prairie. The roles she has played tend to reflect her laid back and unthreatening personality. Following appearances in
television movies and a
commercial for
Kool Aid, at the age of thirteen she landed the role of
Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in
Roseanne. Sara was a cast member during the show's nine-year run from
1988 to
1997, for which she also wrote an episode called "Don't Make Me Over." Sara's contribution was considered so important to
Roseanne that the show's producers arranged the filming schedule to allow her to study at
Yale University while remaining part of the cast. At Yale, she majored in
art with an emphasis on
photography; she graduated with honors in
1997. To coincide with her personal life, Sara wanted her Roseanne character Darlene to come out as a
lesbian, although
ABC executives were not ready for a lesbian in a prominent role.
Gilbert has also made guest appearances in many TV shows such as
The Simpsons,
24,
ER, and
Will & Grace . She returned to
prime time television in the fall of
2005 in the
sitcom Twins on
The WB network; the sitcom was canceled after one year when The WB and
UPN networks merged to become
The CW Network.
Currently she is attached to star in the ABC pilot
Girls on the Bus.
Film career
Gilbert has appeared in two films alongside
Drew Barrymore, in
Poison Ivy in
1992 and
Riding In Cars With Boys in
2001. She has had several other minor roles following
Roseanne, including short film
$30 (aka
30 Bucks) as part of the
Boys Life 3 feature. She directed her own short film
Persona Non Grata in
1998. She also made a
cameo appearance in the film
High Fidelity in 2000, appearing alongside
Jack Black and
John Cusack.
Personal life
In her teens, Gilbert became a
vegetarian. Today, she supports numerous organizations such as
PETA,
Meals on Wheels,
Freedom of Speech,
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, AIDS Project Los Angeles and
Animal Rights.
Wife & ChildrenShe is in a relationship with television writer and producer
Allison Adler, who in October
2004 gave birth to a baby boy named Levi Hank Gilbert-Adler. Adler conceived the son via sperm donor.
In
1993, Sara Gilbert was nominated for the
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Comedy Series for her role in
Roseanne as well as the
Independent Spirit Award award for Best Supporting Female for her role in
Poison Ivy. She was again nominated for an Emmy in
1994 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for
Roseanne.
Starring roles
Calamity Jane,
1984Roseanne (TV series), as
Darlene Conner,
1988 -
1997Runaway Ralph,
1988Sudie And Simpson,
1990Poison Ivy,
199250 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth,
1992Dead Beat,
1994Broken Record,
1997Desert Blue,
1998Persona Non Grata,
1998, Sara starred as a narrator as well as directing this short film
Light It Up,
1999The Big Tease,
1999$30,
1999Jack & The Beanstalk,
2000, a children's animated movie for which Gilbert did a voiceover
Welcome To New York (TV series), as
Amy Manning,
2000Riding In Cars With Boys,
2001Twins (TV series), as Mitchee,
2005Girls on the Bus (TV series),
2006, an ABC Pilot series (unaired)
Guest appearances and cameos
The Simpsons (TV series), as Laura Powers in the episode
New Kid On The Block, 1992Saturday Night Live, hosted one episode in
1994Biography,
2001, appeared as herself in the episode about her half sister
Melissa Gilbert24,
2002, appeared in several episodes as a computer analyst
The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
2003Will & Grace,
2003, appeared in the episode "Fanilow"
ER,
2004, as medical student Jane Figler in several episodes
Strong Medicine as a recovered drug addict fighting to get her daughter back
*
The Unofficial Sara Gilbert Fan Page*
*
Sara Gilbert cast bio on The WB
