Roseanne star Sara Gilbert may have been born to be an actor — but that doesn't mean the road to stardom has been smooth. These are some of the struggles Gilbert has faced during her impressive Hollywood career.
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00:00Roseanne star Sara Gilbert may have been born to be an actor, but that doesn't mean the
00:04road to stardom has been smooth. These are some of the struggles Gilbert has faced during
00:09her impressive Hollywood career.
00:12Sara Gilbert caught the acting bug at a young age — as a kindergartner, to be exact. After
00:16watching her half-siblings Melissa and Jonathan Gilbert star on Little House on the Prairie
00:20and hearing stories of how her grandfather Harry Crane helped develop the Honeymooners,
00:25she knew that she wanted to follow in their footsteps. It also helped that even as a 5-year-old
00:29playing Toto in a school production of The Wizard of Oz, she had comedic chops and a
00:33natural ability to make audiences laugh.
00:35As she worked to make a name for herself, Sara still had to keep up with her education,
00:40much to her dismay. Knowing that she was destined to be in front of a camera was a double-edged
00:44sword. On the one hand, it made those hours in the classroom being a normal kid feel like
00:48an eternity. On the other, having an audition or shoot to look forward to got her through
00:52until the bell rang. She later told Entertainment Weekly,
00:55Honestly, I didn't really love being in regular school, so anything that put me in a more
00:59creative environment was a plus."
01:02Despite being catapulted into the spotlight at a young age, Sara Gilbert has always struggled
01:06with fame, mostly due to being what she describes as incredibly shy. During her time at Warner
01:11Bros. Studios, where she portrayed medical student Jane Figgler on NBC's ER from 2004
01:16to 2007, she would hide from view whenever a tour group passed by. She later told EW,
01:21I just feel shy, like I don't want to take the experience away from anybody, but I always
01:26feel embarrassed for some reason."
01:27In 2010, Gilbert created The Talk, a project she had brainstormed to force herself to step
01:32out of her comfort zone. For Gilbert, it was a liberating experience to not only survive
01:37but thrive in the daytime talk show format, something she never dreamed she'd be capable
01:41of. As she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
01:44When I went to sell it, I was so nervous. I felt like it was good for my spiritual growth
01:48because I was so afraid to kind of speak in public. But I said to them when I was pitching
01:52it, I was like, you guys are probably gonna buy this because I don't want to do it."
01:56Gilbert served as one of the hosts of The Talk for nine seasons, an impressive feat
02:00for someone who isn't a fan of talking in front of crowds.
02:03When you spend 30 years knowing somebody, you can't manufacture that kind of chemistry."
02:10Johnny Galecki is no stranger to dating his on-screen love interests. From 2008 to 2010,
02:16Galecki was in a relationship with his Big Bang Theory co-star, Kaley Cuoco, whose character
02:20in the show ends up with Galecki's. The two even followed a self-imposed rule on set to
02:24keep their romance hidden from the public.
02:26However, this wasn't the first time Galecki had fallen for someone on set. During the
02:30original Roseanne days, while portraying couple David Healy and Darlene Conner, the teenaged
02:35Galecki and Sarah Gilbert began seeing each other.
02:37But it wasn't exactly a fairy tale. She later said on The Talk,
02:41I thought he was super cute and had a crush on him. We started dating and he would come
02:45over and we would, like, make out and then I would start to get depressed.
02:48That's because while dating Galecki, Gilbert began questioning her sexuality. Naturally,
02:52Galecki was confused and took her shift in mood to heart. When she eventually came out
02:56to him as gay, however, he was nothing but supportive. In 2010, when she expressed to
03:00him her plan to come out on The Talk and asked permission to share details of their time
03:05together, this support never wavered. She recalled,
03:08He was like, of course, I love you and I think it's really important and I'm so proud of you.
03:12If you want, I will be there and I will hold your hand.
03:15After coming out to Johnny Galecki, Sarah Gilbert kept her sexuality a secret from the public for a
03:20number of years. Even when she began dating a woman for the first time, Gilbert shielded
03:24the relationship from the spotlight, fearing that it could negatively impact her work.
03:28Referring to Roseanne, she said on The Talk,
03:30No one knew at the show for years, and Johnny held the secret the whole time.
03:34And I always felt so scared. If it came out, what could happen? Could I lose my career? Will
03:38I ever be able to play a straight role again? Ultimately, Gilbert's fears were unfounded,
03:43as she was able to continue a successful career and keep playing straight characters.
03:47Still, this doesn't mean that Gilbert is always comfortable speaking publicly about her sexuality,
03:52and she admitted that some of her fears linger. She said on The Talk,
03:56I'll try and act confident or I'll make jokes about it, but there's still a piece of me that
03:59goes, well, what is this costing me in my career?
04:03Though they shared the screen for nearly a decade during the original run of Roseanne,
04:07Sarah Gilbert and Roseanne Barr had a heated falling out in 2018. That year,
04:11as the sitcom was enjoying a revival, Barr posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett,
04:17the former advisor of Barack Obama. Gilbert quickly took to X, then Twitter,
04:21to condemn Barr's words, writing,
04:22Roseanne's recent comments about Valerie Jarrett and so much more are abhorrent,
04:27and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show.
04:31I am disappointed in her actions, to say the least.
04:33The revival was canceled shortly after, with Gilbert opening up about the situation on The
04:38Talk. She voiced her sadness for the loss of the series and continued to denounce Barr,
04:42much to the former leading lady's annoyance. In a 2023 interview with Megyn Kelly on The Megyn
04:47Kelly Show, Barr said she felt as though Gilbert stabbed her in the back by publicly speaking about
04:52the ordeal and not offering any support. Barr said she became so angered that she confronted Gilbert.
04:57I said, just like this, you better shut your blanking mouth about me.
05:06Other Roseanne stars, including John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf, have commented on the ordeal,
05:11but Gilbert has been the most vocal, and she has therefore taken the bulk of the heat from Barr.
05:16In 2002, the Roseanne cast lost one of its own when Glenn Quinn tragically died of an accidental
05:22heroin overdose. From 1990 until the end of the original series run in 1997,
05:26Quinn portrayed Mark Healy, the boyfriend and eventual husband of Becky Connor and older
05:31brother of David. The Dublin native, also known for his role of Doyle on the Buffy the Vampire
05:36Slayer spinoff Angel, was 32 years old at the time of his death. In 2018, when it came time
05:41to introduce the son of Darlene and David on the Roseanne revival, the character needed a name.
05:46After Sarah Gilbert reached out to Johnny Galecki for his opinion on the matter,
05:49the two instantly came up with the perfect choice. She said on The Talk,
05:53I texted him, what do you think we should name our baby boy? And then I said, oh,
05:57maybe Mark, because Mark was played by Glenn Quinn, who was his brother on the show,
06:01who passed away. That tribute to Quinn lives on through The Conners, which features Ames
06:05McNamara as Mark Connor Healy. He's an intellectual young man who embraces his
06:10individuality, a trait that McNamara thinks is important to showcase on TV.
06:15In 2019, after nine seasons, Sarah Gilbert parted ways with The Talk. She made the
06:20announcement during an April episode, getting emotional as she broke the news to the studio
06:24audience and viewers at home.
06:26But I've decided that it's time for me to leave the show at the end of this season.
06:31Though she said she enjoyed serving as one of the hosts of her creation,
06:34the workload became too much, especially since she was also acting on and executive producing
06:39The Conners, keeping the door open for new projects and raising three children. She said,
06:45I'm just feeling like I don't know how I'm gonna do it all. I was looking at
06:49the next six months and just thinking, there's not time.
06:53Still, Gilbert was able to leave The Talk knowing that she achieved what she set out to do — step
06:57out of her comfort zone and become less anxious about public speaking. She told Deadline,
07:02It really pushed me to learn how to develop a public persona that felt authentic and matched
07:06who I really am. You also learn how to not say more than you're comfortable with, how to not
07:10overshare."
07:11Plus, it wasn't a final goodbye. In the years that followed her departure,
07:15Gilbert has returned to the show several times.
07:18Two years after they started dating, Linda Perry popped the big question to Sarah Gilbert while
07:22they shared a picnic at a Los Angeles park. The couple officially tied the knot in 2014,
07:27and shortly after welcomed Rhodes, their first child. Though Gilbert was finally able to
07:32experience marriage, something she admittedly feared might not happen for her, it didn't last
07:36as long as she might have hoped. In December 2019, Gilbert filed for separation from Perry,
07:41citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized in October 2021,
07:46with the two sharing custody of their son. As they navigate co-parenting,
07:50Gilbert and Perry remain on good terms. Perry told People magazine,
07:53We're never not going to be a family. There doesn't feel like much of a separation
07:57because we're always together. It's really a beautiful relationship."
08:01Sarah Gilbert has been vocal about the negative impacts of a busy schedule,
08:04the main one being limited time to spend with her children. However, another vital aspect of
08:09her life was placed on the back burner, as she took on more duties as an actress, producer,
08:13and talk show host — her physical health. In 2017, she embarked on Prevention's Spread
08:19the Health Challenge, tasking herself with fitting in 15 minutes of exercise per day.
08:23She said,
08:24I've let exercise slide since having my third child, and I wanted to put it back into my
08:28schedule. To regain both the physical and emotional benefits, I decided 15 minutes a
08:32day would be a manageable goal. I found it was easiest to squeeze in a daily walk or jog,
08:37though one day I was able to do an hour of yoga. Though she had to get a little crafty when it
08:41came to scheduling workout time, she made those 15 minutes of daily exercise a non-negotiable part
08:46of her life, and reaped the benefits both physically and mentally. She said,
08:50My mood overall was better and I always like feeling fit. When I'm exercising,
08:54I feel happier and more positive.
08:57In March 2021, the talk host Sharon Osbourne came under fire for supporting her friend
09:01Piers Morgan after he made racist comments about Meghan Markle. Following a heated back-and-forth
09:07with co-host Cheryl Underwood, Osbourne was fired from the talk show.
09:10I should never have dismissed her feelings on national TV.
09:16Around the same time, former host Leah Remini came forward and claimed to reveal other alleged
09:21incidents involving Osbourne, including a racial slur directed toward Julie Chen and a homophobic
09:26remark about Sarah Gilbert. Osbourne's reps denied such allegations and released a statement against
09:31Remini that read, in part,
09:32The only thing worse than a disgruntled former employee is a disgruntled former talk show host.
09:37Remini was only on the talk from 2010 to 2011, which means Osbourne's alleged remarks took place
09:43during that time. Yet in the years that followed, Osbourne and Gilbert appeared to be on great
09:47terms. In October 2020, Gilbert made a surprise appearance on the talk to surprise Osbourne for
09:52her birthday. Gilbert said,
09:54You are just the most amazing, magnetic, tremendous person.
09:57I am beyond lucky that you are in my life.
10:00It's unlikely we'll ever know what really went down between Gilbert, Remini, and Osbourne all
10:04those years ago, but Gilbert and Osbourne certainly seem to have gotten over it.
10:08If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
10:11Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
10:16SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP, 4357.