Date of Birth

24 December 1987, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Mara Elizabeth Wilson

Height

5' 0½" (1.54 m)

Mini Biography

Mara Elizabeth Wilson was born on Friday, July 24th, 1987 in Los Angeles, California. She is the oldest daughter of Michael and Suzie Wilson, with three elder brothers - Danny (b. 1979), Jon (b. 1981) and Joel (b. 1983) - and a younger sister Anna (b. 1993). When Mara was 5 years old, her eldest brother Daniel Ben Wilson (Danny) started acting in television commercials and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. Her parents refused to let her act at first. After continuous persistence from Mara Elizabeth, her parents reluctantly agreed to let her give acting a try. She went on to appear in a number of commercials, including those advertising Texaco and the Bank of America. She also appeared in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), starring Robin Williams and Sally Field, as the divorced parents. In her role, Mara proved herself to be a talented young actress, who was mature for her tender years, and her acting career went from strength-to-strength as she quickly became a favorite among cinema-goers. The following year, Mara played a small girl whose mother had suffered a major stroke in A Time to Heal (1994). But her big break came with the remake of Miracle on 34th Street (1994), as the little, intelligent, cynical girl who learned the magic of Santa Claus. Ironically, Mara was not raised to believe in Santa Claus but this was a bonus in some ways since she was able to empathize with her character's stance that there was no Santa. At the age of nine, Mara was cast in the lead role in the film adaptation of Roald Dahls book, Matilda (1996). Sadly, during filming, Mara lost her beloved mother to breast cancer but she bravely pushed ahead with the film, much to the amazement and admiration of her adult co-stars. Mara starred in three films over the following three years, the last of which was in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). Unfortunately, the film did not do well in the theaters of American box office, but it did very well in the UK box office. This signaled an end to Mara's film career, as she wanted to focus on school and to enjoy her teenage years. In June 2005, Mara graduated from Idyllwild School of Music & Arts and went on to attend New York University. In a March 2012 blog post, she revealed she has no desire to return to acting in films. Today, Mara Wilson is a stage actress, a voice actress, a writer, and a playwright. Mara now lives a quiet life in "The Big Apple", a nickname of New York City, New York.

Trivia

• Young Mara Wilson was first seen in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), where she was spotted by family movie writer/producer John Hughes, who chose her for an important part in his latest production, a remake of the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street (1994).
• Mara graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 2005.
• Anna is 6 years younger than Mara.
• Danny is 8 years older than Mara; the middle child Jon is 7 years older than Mara; Mike and Suzie's youngest son Joel is 5 years older than Mara.
• She writes for "Publicolor".
• Graduated from New York University. [2009]
• She suffers from asthma and was in her high school's choir.
• She cannot wear jewelry as she is allergic to nickel.
• Her brother, Daniel Ben Wilson, appeared in Turner & Hooch (1989) and Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), but is now retired from acting.
• She came out of retirement in 2012 to guest star on the popular web series, Nostalgia Critic (2007). The popularity of her cameo has since rekindled her popularity, as she has since appeared on Demo Reel (2012) and The Nostalgia Chick (2008), and has become good friends with Doug Walker and Lindsay Ellis.
• In 2005, she graduated from John Burroughs High School.
• She studied film at NYU. Mara guest starred as Bitty on the new popular web show "Missed Connection".
• Expressed strong dislike for the Twilight (2008) series in an interview on Nostalgia Critic (2007).
• In 2013, she wrote an article for Cracked.com in which she said (among other things) that when she was 7 years old, she attended the premiere of the Hugh Grant movie Nine Months (1995), and a reporter on the red carpet asked her for her opinion about Hugh Grant having been arrested for soliciting a prostitute.
• First cousin of Ben Shapiro. The two haven't been on speaking terms since 2003. When asked about him she stated, "Growing up is great because you get to choose which relatives you want to spend time with and which ones to cut out of your life without any regret".
• Currently attending New York University and studying acting. [September 2005]
• New York, NY, USA: Writes plays, fiction and non-fiction, and maintains a blog. Mara is writing her first novel and hoping to break into young adult books. [February 2013]
• Her father has Irish and English ancestry. Her mother was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family.
• Was considered for the role of Samantha in the film Donnie Darko (2001), but she turned it down.
• Her mother, Suzie Wilson, passed away from breast cancer during production of Matilda (1996). The film is dedicated to her.
• In her autobiography, she reveals that her mother gave her the 'sex talk' while she was filming Mrs Doubtfire. And the next day she ran around the set, singing "I know about sex!".
• She auditioned for the dual roles in The Parent Trap, but was turned down for being too young.
• Jokes that people will often approach her and ask "is your name Matilda?" and then turn and walk away when she says no.
• During her teen years, she was diagnosed with OCD, after reading a book called Kissing Doorknobs and noting some similarities between herself and the main character. Years later she discovered that the author of the book was actually the mother of her Matilda co-star Kira Spencer Hesser.
• It's widely reported that she is ashamed of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. She has frequently denied those claims, saying she had fun working on the film and loved working with Britt Allcroft.
• During her audition for Mrs Doubtfire, the producers asked all the potential girls how they would react if their dad dressed up as a woman. Mara claims that, in contrast to the subdued reactions of the other girls, she burst out laughing and said "I would be on the floor".
• When she was thirteen, she lobbied really hard to be cast in The Safety of Objects - hoping to move away from her child star image. She auditioned for Sam, the androgynous girl, who was eventually played by Kristen Stewart. She was also asked to read for Sam's friend Sally, who was played by Charlotte Arnold.
• While she was acting, her parents had a rule that stated she could only star in family-friendly movies.
• The protagonist of Miracle on 34th Street was planned to be a boy, following in the footsteps of Home Alone. Chris Columbus however recommended Mara for the part. After a screen test, the character was changed to a girl.
• She had been a fan of Matilda ever since she heard her mother reading the book to a group of school children. When an adaptation of Matilda was among many scripts she was offered, that was the first one she chose.
• Came out as bisexual following the Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando, Florida.
• Wrote her memoir "Where Am I Now? True Stories Of Girlhood & Accidental Fame.".

Trademarks:

• Her big hazel eyes.
  

Quotes

• [reflecting back on her film career] Imagine that when you were a child, you liked to finger-paint. It was a fun pastime, but it came easily to you, so you never took much pride in it. Regardless, you got a reputation for your finger-painting. Now imagine that, fifteen to twenty years later, people are coming up to you and telling you that they have your finger-paintings up on their walls and that your finger-paints changed your life. It's flattering, but you haven't finger-painted in years, and it seems like something you did a long, long time ago. You've realized you don't particularly enjoy getting your hands dirty and that there are other outlets for your creative urges. But people are adamant: are you going to finger-paint again? When? Wait, you're not? Why not? That's what it feels like.
• I don't have any plans to pursue film acting. It's not my "thing" anymore, if it ever was. Yes, I do still act sometimes. But when I do, it's with people I know and trust, people who respect me as a person and appreciate what I have to offer. Yes, I love working in theater and have always loved voice-over, but pursuing a full-time live-action film career does not appeal to me. And no, you will not ever see me on "Dancing With The Stars". Sorry.
• Being cute just made me miserable.