Melissa Gilbert, who charmed audiences across the country as Laura Ingalls Wilder in “Little House on the Prairie,” knew when it was time to leave Los Angeles.

The former child star, who grew up in the spotlight, became a familiar face in Hollywood in the ’80s, hanging out with idols like Rob Lowe and Billy Idol. At age 47, she participated in “Dancing with the Stars.”

However, as the years went by, the actress found herself obsessed with looking younger. Today, the sixty-year-old owns a lifestyle brand, Modern meadowwhich aims to uplift older women, regardless of their age.

“I looked in the mirror several years ago,” Gilbert recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was living in Los Angeles and I didn’t recognize who I was. I had overfilled my face and lips. My forehead didn’t move. I always dyed my hair red. I drove a Mustang convertible. I was a size two in an unhealthy way. I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that’s not who I was.

“I was stuck,” Gilbert admitted. “I could feel myself struggling. And I said to myself, “It’s time to get old.” I had to leave Los Angeles to do this – not Hollywood – Los Angeles specifically.

Gilbert said she and her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, moved to her home state of Michigan after their marriage in 2013.

They lived there for five years. She felt free to finally grow old.

“I’m stopping coloring my hair,” she explained. “I had (my) breast implants removed. I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself, without that pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way.

“I have finally found my feet as a woman, fully 100 percent strong in my own knowledge, in my own achievements. Everything has become easier. And a bonus? I have a lot more free time without looking in a mirror, sitting in a dermatologist’s chair, or sitting in a hairdressing chair.

Gilbert also thanked her “sweet husband” for encouraging her to embrace the aging process.

“I think as we got older, we fell more and more in love with each other, which is such an amazing gift,” she explained. “And I think that’s for a lot of reasons. I think for him, I’m so much more myself and so much more comfortable in my own skin because I’m menopausal because I’m at that age.

“I love that we are together now at this point in our lives,” she added.

In 2019, Gilbert and Busfield purchased a rustic cabin on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains. Life today is “incredibly fulfilling,” she said.

“It’s remarkable,” exclaimed Gilbert. “I love being this age. There are some things that aren’t very fun. I don’t like it when my ankles hurt in the morning or my skin is drier. Growing old isn’t for sissies, but it’s certainly better than the alternative. And I have never felt so good about myself.

“I have nine amazing grandchildren,” she shared. “I spend my days communicating and supporting the Modern Prairie community. I’m so creatively fulfilled in creating these products and growing this business.

Gilbert noted that Modern Prairie’s goal is to “support each other as we go through all of the incredible changes we experience in this phase of our lives, both physically and emotionally.”

In time for November – Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month – Modern Prairie Launches a special collection featuring purplethe official color of pancreatic cancer awareness. Gilbert told the outlet that all proceeds from the collection would support PanCAN.

It’s a cause close to Gilbert’s heart. Michael Landon, who played patriarch Charles Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie,” was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 54. He died three months after publicly announcing his diagnosis in 1991.

Gilbert’s longtime friend Patrick Swayze also died in 2009 at the age of 57 from pancreatic cancer.

When she’s not raising awareness about the disease, Gilbert still pursues her passion for theater. She just joined the cast of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart” and is currently involved in another project in development at Lifetime.

“It never ends and I enjoy my life to the fullest,” Gilbert said. “I have to say, I don’t think I’ll ever have a ‘Half Pint’ in me. That spunky, feisty, feisty little girl is still there and is truly the driving force behind everything I do. Sometimes she causes me some trouble, but she never goes away. I have a young mind, but a wise old brain.