Mara Wilson, the beloved child actor who charmed audiences in early ’90s family classics like Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street, quickly became a household name with her inquisitive charm and heartfelt performances.
But as she grew older, the spotlight faded. Despite what seemed like a promising path to lasting fame, Wilson—who turned 37 on July 24—disappeared from Hollywood’s radar.
“Hollywood burned out on me,” she later said. “In this industry, if you’re no longer cute or beautiful, you’re considered worthless.”
Wilson first captured hearts at just five years old, playing Robin Williams’ youngest child in the 1993 hit Mrs. Doubtfire, one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time. Before that, the California native had already been appearing in commercials.
Her parents, while proud of her accomplishments, worked hard to keep her grounded. “Whenever I’d say something like, ‘I’m the greatest!’ my mother would gently remind me, ‘You’re just an actor. You’re just a kid,’” Wilson recalled.
Following her big-screen debut, Wilson landed the role of Susan Walker in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street, a part originally played by Natalie Wood in 1947.
Reflecting on her audition in an essay for The Guardian, Wilson recalls, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” But she added with a touch of childhood innocence, “I did believe in the tooth fairy—and had named mine after Sally Field,” a nod to the Oscar-winning actress who played her mother in Mrs. Doubtfire.
Wilson’s star continued to rise when she took on the title role in Matilda (1996), playing the magical, whip-smart girl opposite Danny DeVito and his real-life wife, Rhea Perlman.
That same year, however, Wilson faced a devastating personal loss: her mother, Suzie, died of breast cancer. It marked a turning point in her life, both personally and professionally.
“I wasn’t entirely sure who I was,” Wilson reflects. “Before that, I was someone else, and after that, I was someone else again.” She describes the profound grief she experienced after losing her mother: “She was like this omnipresent force in my life.” The loss was overwhelming. “I mostly just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother passed away,” she says.
As a child star, Wilson felt exhausted by fame. She admits that she was “the most unhappy” during the peak of her popularity.
At just eleven years old, she reluctantly took on her final major acting role in the 2000 fantasy film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Looking back, she recalls, “Those characters were just too young. I had a visceral reaction to the script when I was eleven—I thought, ugh, how cute,” she told The Guardian.
She was already feeling “burnt out.”
But leaving Hollywood wasn’t just about burnout.
As she entered adolescence, Wilson began to grow out of the roles that once defined her. The industry, which had once celebrated her for being adorable, no longer had space for her evolving identity.
“My bra strap was always showing. I was just another weird, nerdy, loud girl with bad teeth and bad hair,” she recalls. “By the time I was 13, no one had called me cute or complimented my appearance in years—at least not in a nice way.”
Navigating the demands of fame while going through puberty left a lasting impact. Growing up in the spotlight deeply shaped her sense of self.