In the early 1990s, Mara Wilson captured hearts worldwide with her charming performances as the spirited young girl in beloved films such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street.
Now 37, Wilson, who celebrated her birthday on July 24, appeared destined for continued success. However, as she matured, her screen presence faded, and she vanished from the spotlight.
Reflecting on her career, she shares, “Hollywood was done with me. If you’re no longer cute or beautiful, you’re considered worthless.”
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson won over millions with her role as Robin Williams’ youngest child in Mrs. Doubtfire.
Before this breakout role, the California native had only been seen in commercials. The opportunity to star in one of Hollywood’s top-grossing comedies marked a major turning point in her young career.
“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,’” says Wilson, now 37.
Following her film debut, she landed the role of Susan Walker—originally portrayed by Natalie Wood in 1947—in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street.
In an essay for The Guardian, Wilson recalls her audition, writing, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” She adds, with a nod to the Oscar-winning actress who played her mother in Mrs. Doubtfire, “but I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.”
In 1996, Wilson took on the role of the magical girl in Matilda, sharing the screen with Danny DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman.
That same year, her mother, Suzie, succumbed to breast cancer.
Reflecting on her profound grief, Wilson shares,“I didn’t really know who I was…There was who I was before that, and who I was after that. She was like this omnipresent thing in my life,” Wilson says of the deep grief she experienced after losing her mother. She continues, “I found it kind of overwhelming. Most of the time, I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died.” The young star felt exhausted and admits that despite her fame, she was “the most unhappy” during that time.
At age 11, Wilson reluctantly took on her final major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film “Thomas and the Magic Railroad”. She recalls her reaction to the script, saying, “The characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] script…Ugh, I thought. How cute,” she explains “The Guardian”.
However, her departure from Hollywood wasn’t solely her choice. As a teenager, Wilson struggled with a lack of roles while navigating puberty and moving beyond the “cute” phase.
She describes herself as “just another awkward, nerdy, loud girl with bad teeth and bad hair, whose bra strap was always showing.”
“At 13, no one had called me cute or mentioned the way I looked in years, at least not in a positive way,” she reveals.
Wilson had to confront the pressures of fame and the difficulties of growing up under the public’s gaze. Her shifting image deeply impacted her.
She reflects, “I had this Hollywood idea that if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless. Because I directly tied that to the demise of my career. Even though I was sort of burned out on it, and Hollywood was burned out on me, it still doesn’t feel good to be rejected.”
Wilson, now a writer, released her debut book “Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame” in 2016.
The book explores a range of topics, from the lessons she learned about sex on the set of “Melrose Place” to her realization during adolescence that she was no longer deemed “cute” enough for Hollywood. These essays trace her path from unintentional fame to a more modest, yet content, obscurity.
She also penned Good Girls Don’t, a memoir that delves into her experiences as a child actor striving to meet expectations.
“Being cute just made me miserable,” she reflects in her essay for the Guardian. “I had always thought it would be me giving up acting, not the other way around.”
