Mara Wilson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Mara Wilson
Born Mara Elizabeth Wilson
(1987-07-24) July 24, 1987 (age 25)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress (1991 – 2000), Playwright, Stage Actress, Voice Actress, Writer
Years active 1993 – present
Religion Judaism
Parents Michael "Mike" Wilson
Suzie Wilson(deceased)
Website
www.marawilsonwritesstuff.com

Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American former child actress, stage actress, voice actress, playwright, and writer. She is best known for her roles as Nattie Hillard in "Mrs. Doubtfire" and Matilda Wormwood in "Matilda". Mara's first acting job was in a Lunchables commercial.[1] Mara's parents refused to let her go into acting at first.[2]

Contents

Personal life [edit]

Mara Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California, into a Jewish family. Her parents are Mike Wilson and the late Suzie Shapiro Wilson. She has three older brothers, Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister, Anna.[3] Mara's mother was diagnosed with Breast cancer on March 10, 1995. By the time the doctors found the cancer it was too late.[4] Suzie Wilson died while Mara was filming "Matilda". The movie was dedicated to Suzie's memory. Mike has since remarried. In 2005, Wilson graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy.[5] She is a 2009 graduate of New York University's[6] Tisch School of the Arts. In an interview she stated that she does not want to be a celebrity,[7] although she did add that she was considering doing a small film, just not mainstream films. Wilson explained that she quit film acting because she did not find it enjoyable, and prefers stage acting.[8]

Career [edit]

After watching Danny act in commercials Mara had interest in film acting at the age of 5. Wilson's film debut was in the 1993 hit "Mrs. Doubtfire" which is based on the Anne Fine novel Madame Doubtfire followed by the 1994 remake of "Miracle on 34th Street". In 1994, Wilson had a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on the prime time soap opera "Melrose Place" and played Barbara Barton in the television film "A Time to Heal". In 1995, she won the ShoWest Award for "Young Star of the Year." Her performances in those films caught the attention of Danny DeVito and led to her being cast as Matilda in "Matilda", adapted from the popular children's book Matilda (novel) by Roald Dahl. 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 both Matilda and A Simple Wish. In 1999, she played Willow Johnson in the 1999 Disney Channel television film "Balloon Farm". Mara auditioned for the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, but she was considered to be too young for the role.[9] Her appearance in the 2000 film "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" was her last major film role to date. Once "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" was completed Mara decided to focus on school instead of film acting.

Wilson sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards telecast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy.[10]

In January 2012, Wilson appeared briefly in one episode of a web series called "Missed Connection" in the role of Bitty. In 2012, Wilson addressed recurrent fan questions regarding her acting career via her blog. Within the same year, Wilson made special appearances on internet review shows for That Guy with the Glasses.

Mara works for Publicolor and is hoping to break into young adult novels.[11]

Filmography [edit]

Film [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Natalie "Nattie" Hillard
1994 Miracle on 34th Street Susan Walker
A Time to Heal Barbara Barton TV movie
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
Nominated—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
1999 Balloon Farm Willow Johnson TV movie
2000 Thomas & 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

Television [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Melrose Place Nicole "Nikki" Petrova 5 Episodes
1996 Pearl Samantha Stein Episode: "The Tutor" (season 1 episode 11)
1999 Batman Beyond Tamara (voice) Episode: Mind Games (season 2 episode 10)

Internet [edit]

Year Series Role Notes
2012 The Nostalgia Critic Herself Episode: "A Simple Wish" [12]
Nostalgia Chick Episode: "Matilda" [13]
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"[14]
Filmed in 2011

Awards [edit]

1995 – ShoWest Award – Young Star of the Year[15]

Stage [edit]

"Cinderella" (2005)

References [edit]

^ "Atop the Forth Wall- Psychoman #1 ". That Guy With The Glasses. Retrieved September 4, 2012.

External links [edit]