Amy O'Neill Biography

Amy O'Neill (born July 8, 1971) is a performer and a former actress. After appearing in several sitcoms and starring as Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986, she was cast as Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award. She also appeared in the 1992 sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and as Lisa Barnes in Where's Rodney?.

Early life

O'Neill was born in Pacific Palisades, California, the daughter of Virginia, an art school director, and Thomas O'Neill, a Los Angeles construction company owner. She is the third of five children. Her older siblings include brother Casey and sister Katie. Her younger brothers include Hugh and Barry. Her father is the brother of Hugh O'Neill, Esq, former Deputy Chief Counsel to The Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman.

Career

O'Neill began auditioning for parts at age ten with her older siblings. After school, the kids would drive out to Hollywood. O'Neill made her first appearance on television at age 13 in an episode of Mama's Family as a younger version of Betty White's character, Ellen Harper. She continued working on television shows such as Matt Houston, Night Court, Highway to Heaven and The Twilight Zone. She also appeared on the American game show, Body Language. After an appearance on Family Ties, O'Neill won the role of the pregnant teenager Molly Stark on the daytime soap, The Young and the Restless for thirty episodes in 1986.

She appeared in the 1989 television films, Desperate for Love as Tammy Lauren's best friend, with Christian Slater and as Jodie in I Know My First Name is Steven, before appearing in her most recognized role as Amy Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the film, she and her brother are shrunk to 1/4 inch high by the father's (Rick Moranis) shrink ray. After the film, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.

O'Neill continued work as Annette in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but most of her scenes were cut out due to time constraints. She can, however, be seen in the background of a crowd scene. She acted as Lisa Barnes in the pilot episode of Where's Rodney? with Honey co-star Jared Rushton and Rodney Dangerfield, but it wasn't picked up in 1990 or 1991. She continued working in television series such as Room for Romance, The Young Riders, and Gabriel's Fire.

She starred as Susan Hartley in an episode of Murder, She Wrote and came back to the Disney screen in the sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, as Amy Szalinski. Before this was written as a sequel to Honey, it was titled Big Baby and didn't have any characters from the original film. As the plot was changed to include the Szalinski's, there was no room for a female lead, besides Keri Russell's role as the babysitter. O'Neill only appeared in the opening scene as she is leaving for college. Her character is later mentioned in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

She later appeared in the television film, White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II as Pandra, one of the young adults stuck in the Cascade Mountains, having to fend for themselves. In 1994, she appeared in the National Lampoon film, Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women as a German Skater.

Personal life

After her interest in acting had waned, O'Neill quit acting in 1994 after getting scripts that required nudity. She met old childhood friend, Roy Johns, owner of a few circus acts. As she watched his work, she became interested in how active the girls in his performances were. She became involved with his acts and is now part of Johns' crew.

She is now part of the performance art community in Los Angeles. In 2002, she joined the Hollywood, Alabama trio, "Girls On Stilts." She has toured places like Italy, Asia and has brandished her skills at Harrah's Casino, Disneyland, and other places. She doesn't have any children and is not currently married, but hoping to start a family with someone who isn't "intimidated" by her work as a performer.

O'Neill returned to television in 2005 to appear in an MTV documentary with her Honey co-star Thomas Wilson Brown in The 100 Greatest Family Films. In 2008, she appeared as an Officer's wife in an independent film, The Japanese Sandman.

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1989	Desperate for Love	Cindy	Supporting Role
	I Know My First Name is Steven	Jodie	Minor Role
	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids	Amy Szalinski	Main Role
1992	Honey, I Blew Up the Kid	Amy Szalinski	Supporting Role
1993	White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II	Pandra	Main Role
1994	Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women	German Skater	Minor Role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Mama's Family	Young Ellen Harper	Episode: Mama's Birthday
1984	Matt Houston	Rosie	Episode: Vanished
1985	Night Court	Jenny Reader	Episode: Walk, Don't Wheel
1985	Highway to Heaven	Sue	Episode: The Secret
1985	The Twilight Zone	Blonde Girl	Episode: The Shadow Man
1986	Family Ties	Brenda	Episode: The Disciple
1986	The Young and the Restless	Molly Stark	30 Episodes
1987	Second Chance	Unknown	Episode: Plain Jane
1989	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Annette	Episode: Evolution
1990	Where's Rodney?	Lisa Barnes	Pilot
1990	Room for Romance	Unknown	Episode: A Midsummer Night's Reality
1990	The Young Riders	Jennifer Tompkins	Episode: Pride and Prejudice
1991	Gabriel's Fire	Ginny	Episode: The Great Waldo
1991	Murder, She Wrote	Susan Hartley	Episode: A Killing in Vegas