Mara Wilson, the bright-eyed star of the 1993 hit film Mrs. Doubtfire, made a big decision. She walked away from Hollywood at just 13 years old. Back then, she was one of the most famous child actors around. It was a surprising move for someone with such a promising career.
Her journey into the spotlight began at age six. That’s when she first appeared with comedy legend Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. She quickly became a sought-after talent. After that, she starred in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Then came her own leading role in 1997’s A Simple Wish. But her most famous part was likely the main character in the beloved 1996 classic, Matilda. She told NPR in 2016 that she had a natural ear for dialogue. She thought this might be because she often listened to her parents and older brothers talk. She also loved reading from a young age, which helped her easily learn her lines.
Life changed drastically for Wilson and her family when she was just eight. Her mother, Suzie Wilson, passed away from breast cancer in 1996. This personal tragedy deeply affected Wilson’s feelings about acting. She later shared how her mother’s death reshaped her view of her career. "Sometimes I wish I had stopped acting after Matilda," she admitted to NPR in 2016. She felt that film was her career peak. There was nowhere higher for her to go in acting. She started to feel disconnected from it.
Wilson believed it would have been a good time to rethink everything. However, after her mother died, movies became the only stable part of her life. She felt a strong need to keep going. She remembered feeling "very depressed" and "very anxious" when Matilda premiered. She was still deep in grief. "I only have vague memories of the Matilda premiere," she said. It was a very hard time. She became a bit disillusioned with Hollywood and acting. Yet, the industry also gave her a sense of support. When it ended, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself.
Wilson kept getting film and TV roles. Then, at 13, she turned down an audition for the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. This choice marked a shift. It led her to pause her acting career. She wanted to focus on her education instead. She attended the respected Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. Later, she graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of Arts in 2009. While Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) remains her last film role to date, she did theater projects during her college years.
Mara Wilson has spoken and written a lot about being a child star. In 2016, she released a memoir. She also wrote many essays on the topic. She told The Guardian in 2023 that she still thinks about the complex nature of childhood fame. "I don’t think you can be a child star without some lasting damage," she stated clearly. She explained that people often assume Hollywood is bad. They think movie sets will destroy you. For her, that wasn’t exactly true.
Wilson felt safe when working on film sets. She did remember some "weird and questionable things" from her youth. Adults would tell inappropriate jokes. Sometimes they would sexually harass others in front of her. Some people would ask her, not her parents, if it was okay for her to work overtime. Still, she never felt unsafe. She credits this to working with many good directors. They knew how to work with kids.
After college, Wilson slowly started taking on TV roles again. But mostly, she focused on voice acting. You can hear her in animated projects like BoJack Horseman and Big Hero 6: The Series. Off-screen, Wilson openly shared her identity. She came out as bisexual in 2016, following the Pulse nightclub tragedy in Florida. She now identifies as both bisexual and queer. She told Lambda Legal in 2023 that it’s important to be open about who you are, especially if you have a safe and privileged position. "I’d rather it be me," she said, "who can afford therapy and has this platform, who gets harassed for being who I am than a young LGBTQ person."
Wilson has also used her platform to support mental health. In 2015, she appeared in a video campaign for Project UROK. This charity helps teens with mental health issues. She spoke about her own struggles with anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She hoped to encourage other young people to get help. "I wish someone had told me it’s okay to be anxious," she shared in the video. "You don’t have to fight it." She stressed that fighting anxiety actually makes it worse. "It’s the fear of fear," she explained. She reminded teens that they are not alone. Others have faced similar battles and come out okay.
In her 2023 interview with The Guardian, Wilson confessed she doesn’t strongly want to return to full-time acting. But she has started to come to terms with her complicated past as a child star. She believes Hollywood isn’t sure what to do with "a short, curvy, Jewish, brunette woman." She doesn’t want anyone telling her to lose weight or get a nose job. For a long time, she let the media and Hollywood define her. Now, she focuses on her own goals, her own relationships, and her own life.