Mara Wilson Biography

Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American writer and former child actress. Her best known roles include Natalie Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Matilda Wormwood in Matilda (1996), and Lily Stone in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). Since retiring from film acting, Wilson has focused on writing, penning the play Sheeple which was produced for the New York International Fringe Festival in 2013 as well as publishing a memoir, Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame (2016).

Early life

Mara Elizabeth Wilson was born on July 24, 1987, in Burbank, California. Her father, Mike Wilson, was a television broadcast engineer, and her mother, Suzie Wilson (ne Shapiro; deceased), was a homemaker. Wilson's mother was Jewish, and her father is of part Irish descent. She was raised Jewish, and became an atheist when she was 15. She has three older brothers"?Danny, Jon, and Joel"?and a younger sister, Anna. Political commentator Ben Shapiro is her maternal cousin. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995, and died on April 26, 1996, after production on Matilda had wrapped. Accordingly, the film was dedicated to Suzie's memory. After her mother died, Wilson lost some of her passion for acting.

Career

Acting

Wilson became interested in acting after watching her oldest brother Danny act. Mara's parents refused to let her act, but they eventually reluctantly agreed to let her go into acting. After acting in commercials for Lunchables, Bank of America, Texaco, and Marshall's, Mara was invited to audition for the 1993 comedy film Mrs. Doubtfire and won the part of Natalie Hillard. This was followed by the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. In 1994, she had a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on Melrose Place and played Barbara Barton in the television film A Time to Heal.

Wilson sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards telecast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy. In 1995, she won the ShoWest Award for "Young Star of the Year". Her performances in those films caught the attention of Danny DeVito which led to her being cast as Matilda Wormwood in Matilda. She then went on to star in A Simple Wish alongside Martin Short.

In 1999, she played Willow Johnson in the 1999 Disney Channel television film Balloon Farm.

Wilson auditioned for the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, but she lost to Lindsay Lohan after being deemed too young for the role.

In 1998 Wilson went to a table reading of What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, but she did not get the part.

Wilson appeared in the 2000 children's fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, it was her last feature film until 2015. At that point, scripts were being sent to her that she did not have to go to auditions. After Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Wilson retired from acting.

Before taking a 12-year hiatus from acting, she got the script for Donnie Darko but declined to audition for the film.

In 2012, Wilson appeared briefly in one episode of a web series called Missed Connection in the role of Bitty and made special appearances on internet review shows for That Guy with the Glasses "? most notably a comedic turn playing an adult Matilda during a review of Matilda by The Nostalgia Chick, Lindsay Ellis. That year, when asked why she quit film acting, Wilson explained: "Film acting is not very fun. Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the director's eyes, you 'get it right', does not allow for very much creative freedom. The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare." Wilson appeared in the 2015 comedy-drama film Billie Bob Joe, it was her first feature film in over 15 years.

Wilson has a recurring role on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale as "The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home", as well as her own storytelling show called What Are You Afraid Of? Her goal is to turn What Are You Afraid Of? into a podcast. In 2016, Wilson made a brief return to television by appearing as a waitress on an episode of Broad City. She also voiced Jill Pill, a writer/director anthropomorphic spider, in season 3 of BoJack Horseman.

Writing

In May 2013, Wilson wrote an article for online magazine Cracked.com, offering her opinion of the delinquency of some former child stars. As of that year, she worked for Publicolor. Her play Sheeple was produced in 2013 for the New York International Fringe Festival. In an interview that December, Wilson stated that her film acting days are over, and that she is instead focusing on writing.

Personal life

Wilson went to the Idyllwild Arts Academy near Palm Springs, California, and graduated in 2009 from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While at New York University she appeared in her own one-woman show called Weren't You That Girl?

When Wilson was 12, she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Wilson has struggled with anxiety and depression. In 2015, she teamed up with Project UROK, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to aid teens with mental illness. Wilson appeared in a video in which she talks about the mental illnesses she has experienced, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She also discussed her history with mental illness on Paul Gilmartin's Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast. She has also been diagnosed with ADHD.

In 2013, Wilson lived in Queens, New York, and was involved with compulsive storytelling.

Following the Orlando nightclub shooting in June 2016, Wilson came out as bisexual in solidarity with the LGBT community.

In an NPR interview, Nancy Cartwright stated that a young Mara Wilson was the inspiration for a character's voice on The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Mrs. Doubtfire	Natalie "Nattie" Hillard
1994	Miracle on 34th Street	Susan Walker
1996	Matilda	Matilda Wormwood	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor Nominated"?Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film Won"?Young Star Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film
1997	A Simple Wish	Anabel Greening	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor Nominated"?Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film Nominated"?Young Star Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film
2000	Thomas and the Magic Railroad	Lily Stone	Nominated"?Young Star Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film Nominated"?Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film The original narrator but was replaced by Alec Baldwin
2015	Billie Bob Joe	Herself

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Melrose Place	Nicole "Nikki" Petrova	Recurring role (Season 2); 5 episodes
1994	A Time to Heal	Barbara Barton	Television film
1996	Pearl	Samantha Stein	Episode: "The Tutor" (Season 1, Episode 11)
1999	Batman Beyond	Tamara (voice)	Episode: "Mind Games" (Season 2, Episode 10)
1999	Balloon Farm	Willow Johnson	Television film
2016	Broad City	Waitress	Episode: "Burning Bridges" (Season 3, Episode 8)
2016	BoJack Horseman	Jill Pill (voice)	Recurring role (Season 3); 4 episodes
2018	Big Hero 6: The Series	Liv Amara (voice)	Episode: "Big Problem"

Internet

Year	Title series	Role	Notes
2012	Nostalgia Critic	Herself	Episode: "A Simple Wish"
	Nostalgia Chick		Episode: "Matilda"
	Demo Reel	Donnie DuPre's wife (voice)	Episode: "Lost in Translation (Bromance Version)"
	Shut Up and Talk	Herself	Episode: "Guest: Mara Wilson"
	Missed Connection	Bitty	Episode: "Bad Dates" Filmed in 2011
2013	Welcome to Night Vale	The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home	Episodes: "26 - Faceless Old Woman", "31 - A Blinking Light up on the Mountain", "Condos", "The Debate", "49 - Old Oak Doors", "53 - The September Monologues", "The Librarian", "65 - Voicemail", "66 - worms..."
2014	Keith and The Girl	Herself	Episode: "2002: Boobs"
	Nostalgia Chick		Episode: "Nostalgic Foods of Yore"
	Amy Poehler's Smart Girls		Episode: "The In Too Steep Tea Party"
	Maven of the Eventide		Pumpktoberfest Vlogs, Episodes 5 and 12
	I Don't Even Own a Television		Episode: "016 "? Covert Conception (w/ Mara Wilson)"
2015	Keith and The Girl		Episode: "2147: Gang Dick"
	Gilmore Guys		Episode 4.21
	That's the Show with Danny		Episode: "117: The One with Mara Wilson"
2016	Mouth Time with Reductress	Ruth Hrorgen	Mouth Time LIVE! With Mara Wilson
2017	I Don't Even Own a Television	Herself	Episode: "081: I'm With the Band (w/ Mara Wilson)"

Awards

Wilson won a Young Artist Award for her role in A Simple Wish in "Best Performance in a Feature Film Leading Young Actress" and a Young Star Award for Matilda in "Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film". She was twice nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor, for Matilda and A Simple Wish.

• 1995 - ShoWest Award - Young Star of the Year.

Stage

• Cinderella (2005)
• Weren't You That Girl? (2009)
• What Are You Afraid Of? (2014)

Writings

• Sheeple (2013)
• Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame (2016)