In the early 1990s, the world fell in love with the adorable Mara Wilson, the child actor known for playing the precocious little girl in family classics 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.
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.
In an essay for the Guardian, Wilson writes of her audition, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” Referencing the Oscar-winning actor who played her mom in Mrs. Doubtfire, she continues, “but 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 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 adds, “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 girl was exhausted and when she was “very famous,” she says she “was 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.”
She was “just another weird, 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 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 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.”
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 discusses “everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer ‘cute’ enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity.”
She also wrote “Good Girls Don’t” a memoir that examines her life as a child actor living up to expectations.
“Being cute just made me miserable,” she writes in her essay for the Guardian. “I had always thought it would be me giving up acting, not the other way around.”
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SURI CRUISE DITCHES MOM’S NYC MANSION FOR DORM LIFE – SEE THE STUNNING TRANSFORMATION IN PICS
Katie Holmes’ daughter, Suri Cruise, has recently taken a big step toward independence. After finishing high school, Suri moved out of her mother’s luxurious New York City apartment and into a college dorm room, where she is now sharing space with a roommate.
In 2014, Suri Cruise lived with her mother, Katie Holmes, in a rental apartment at the Chelsea Mercantile. By 2024, Suri had moved out to start college, leaving Katie as an empty nester. Suri is now settling into a college dorm, marking a new chapter in her life.
Katie and her daughter nearly moved to a different home in the Apthorp neighborhood of New York City. In 2014, Katie made a bid on a prewar apartment there. The Upper West Side home had four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Katie Holmes’ financial advisors suggested that renting their high-rise luxury apartment was a better choice. Because of this advice, Katie and Suri decided to stay in their current apartment.
However, their living situation changed after Suri graduated from LaGuardia High School. Before she got her diploma, Suri enjoyed some time with her classmates on the streets of New York City on June 20, 2024, right before their high school prom.
Suri Cruise looked stunning in a patterned bodice-style gown for her prom. She accessorized with a black clutch bag, a pink rose corsage, and heels. Her prom date wore a dark blue suit, and they posed for pictures together.
Everyone was dressed up for the special event.
Later, footage showed Suri, who looks a lot like her mom Katie Holmes, celebrating with her classmates while wearing red graduation robes on June 21, 2024.
A friend posed for photos with Suri, while another friend stood nearby on the pavement as cars passed by.
Suri looked happy as she posed for pictures taken by her mom in New York City.
Suri Cruise didn’t waste any time starting college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On August 18, 2024, she was seen moving into her dorm with help from her mother, Katie Holmes. They looked happy as they carried luggage, marking an important milestone in Suri’s life.
Reports say that while Suri was settling into her dorm, her father was allegedly enjoying life in London. The mother-daughter duo was spotted carrying luggage to Suri’s new home on campus.
The university campus is impressive, with large open spaces, a tennis court, and areas for studying, research, and relaxation. It also has the Highmark Center for Health, Wellness, and Athletics, a modern wellness center.
Several restaurants on the Carnegie Mellon University campus offer a variety of foods. One of these is the Au Bon Pain Café bakery at Cohon Center. According to the university’s website, all the recipes are “uniquely crafted,” providing students with a range of delicious options.
Katie’s daughter, Suri, will have access to a variety of food and drink options on campus, including smoothies, sodas, cappuccinos, hot or iced coffee and teas, espresso drinks, pasta, soup, and croissants. She can also choose from a customized made-to-order breakfast or lunch sandwich or salad, or grab a pre-made salad, sandwich, wrap, yogurt parfait, fresh fruit, or snack.
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