In the early 1990s, everyone was charmed by the cute Mara Wilson, the young actress famous for her role as the smart little girl in beloved family movies like Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street.
The young star, who turned 37 on July 24, seemed poised for success but as she grew older, she stopped being “cute” and disappeared from the big screen.
“Hollywood was burned out on me,” she says, adding that “if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless.”
Keep reading to learn what happened to Wilson!
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson stole the hearts of millions of fans when she starred as Robin Williams’ youngest child in Mrs. Doubtfire.
The California-born star had previously appeared in commercials when she received the invitation to star in one of the biggest-grossing comedies in Hollywood history.
“My parents were proud, but they kept me grounded. If I ever said something like, ‘I’m the greatest!’ my mother would remind me, ‘You’re just an actor. You’re just a kid,’” Wilson, now 37, said.
After her big screen debut, she won the role of Susan Walker – the same role played by Natalie Wood in 1947 – in 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
The siblings from ‘MRS DOUBTFIRE’ have reunited over 30 years after the film’s release. pic.twitter.com/igfg92AlN9
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 2, 2024
In an article for the Guardian, Wilson talks about her audition, saying, “I performed my lines for the production team and mentioned that I didn’t think Santa Claus was real.” She also refers to the Oscar-winning actress who played her mother in Mrs. Doubtfire, adding, “However, I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.”
‘Most unhappy’
Next, Wilson played the magical girl in 1996’s Matilda, starring alongside Danny DeVito and his real-life wife Rhea Perlman.
It was also the same year her mother, Suzie, lost her battle with breast cancer.
I wasn’t sure about my identity anymore. There was the person I was before, and then there was the person I became after. My mom’s absence felt like this huge shadow in my life, Wilson explains about the intense sadness she felt after losing her mother. She continues, “It was really hard to handle. Most of the time, I just wanted to be like any other kid, especially after my mom passed away.”
The young girl felt really tired, and she mentioned that when she became “very famous,” she actually felt “the most unhappy.”
When she was 11, she begrudgingly played her last major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. “The characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] script…Ugh, I thought. How cute,” she tells the Guardian.
‘Burned out’
But her exit from Hollywood wasn’t only her decision.
As a young teenager, the roles weren’t coming in for Wilson, who was going through puberty and outgrowing the “cute.”
Recommended Article
She was simply another quirky, geeky girl who was really loud, had crooked teeth, messy hair, and her bra strap was always peeking out.
Backstage at @OkaytoSayTX supporting #mentalhealth awareness and destigmatization! pic.twitter.com/IqfFkuRiPj
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) March 8, 2018
“At 13, no one had called me cute or mentioned the way I looked in years, at least not in a positive way,” she says.
Wilson was forced to deal with the pressures of fame and the challenges of transitioning to adulthood in the public eye. Her changing image had a profound effect on her.
I used to think that in Hollywood, if you’re not pretty or attractive, then you don’t matter at all. I connected that idea to the end of my career. Even though I was kind of tired of it and Hollywood seemed tired of me too, it still hurts to be turned away.
Mara as the writer
Wilson, now a writer, authored her first book “Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame,” in 2016.
The book talks about a lot of things, like what she found out about sex while working on Melrose Place and how, as a teenager, she realized she wasn’t considered ‘cute’ enough for Hollywood anymore. These essays show her path from unexpected fame to a quieter, but still happy, life.
Having a rad time at #90sCon! pic.twitter.com/WMEEPpIBRr
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) March 11, 2022
She also wrote “Good Girls Don’t” a memoir that examines her life as a child actor living up to expectations.
In her essay for the Guardian, she shares, “Being cute only brought me sadness. I always believed that I would be the one to stop acting, not the other way around.”
What are your thoughts on Mara Wilson? Please let us know what you think and then share this story so we can hear from others!
