The young star, who turned 37 on July 24, seemed poised for success but as she grew older, she stopped being âcuteâ and disappeared from the big screen.
âHollywood was burned out on me,â she says, adding that âif youâre not cute anymore, if youâre not beautiful, then you are worthless.â
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson stole the hearts of millions of fans when she starred as Robin Williamsâ 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.
âMy parents were proud, but they kept me grounded. If I ever said something like, âIâm the greatest!â my mother would remind me, âYouâre just an actor. Youâre just a kid,ââ Wilson, now 37, said.
After her big screen debut, she won the role of Susan Walker â the same role played by Natalie Wood in 1947 â in 1994âs Miracle on 34th Street.
In an essay for the Guardian, Wilson writes of her audition, âI read my lines for the production team and told them I didnât believe in Santa Claus.â Referencing the Oscar-winning actor who played her mom in Mrs. Doubtfire, she continues, âbut I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.â
âMost unhappyâ
Next, Wilson played the magical girl in 1996âs 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.
âI didnât really know who I wasâŚThere was who I was before that, and who I was after that. She was like this omnipresent thing in my life,â Wilson says of the deep grief she experienced after losing her mother. She adds, âI found it kind of overwhelming. Most of the time, I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died.â
The young girl was exhausted and when she was âvery famous,â she says she âwas the most unhappy.â
When she was 11, she begrudgingly played her last major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. âThe characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] scriptâŚUgh, I thought. How cute,â she tells the Guardian.