Mara Wilson, who charmed audiences in the 1990s as a child star in Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and Matilda, turned 38 on July 24. Though she seemed destined for Hollywood success, she struggled with fame, grief, and the pressures of growing up in the public eye, especially after her mother’s death in 1996.
By adolescence, roles dried up as she outgrew the “cute” image Hollywood valued. Wilson recalls, “if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless.” Exhausted and unhappy, she played her last major role at 11 in Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
Now a writer, Wilson has authored Where Am I Now? and Good Girls Don’t, reflecting on child stardom, the loss of her “cute” image, and finding fulfillment outside Hollywood.