Mara Wilson: What happened to Matilda child star Mara Wilson and what is she doing now? | Explainer

It’s been 28 years since Mara Wilson stole hearts around the world in Matilda.

The child actress was just nine when she starred as the titular character in the beloved film about a young girl with magical gifts.

The Roald Dahl adaptation, directed by and starring Danny DeVito came out in 1996.

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Nearly three decades on, what is leading lady Mara Wilson up to? Read on to find out.

Why did Mara Wilson stop acting?

Mara Wilson got her first role in the Robin Williams-led film Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993.

The actress was six when she starred as the youngest Hillard daughter, Natalie, in the classic comedy movie.

The performance was followed by lead roles in the Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street a year later and, not long after, Matilda.

However, by the early ’00s the rising star decided to step away from acting, with Thomas and the Magic Railroad in 2000 being her last project for many years.

The actress admitted in an old blog post that she found film acting was “not very fun”. 

Three words from Robin Williams still on co-star’s mind

“Film can be exciting, but more often, it’s tedious. The celebrity aspect is nothing short of ridiculous, and auditioning is brutal and dehumanising,” she wrote in 2012.

“Every time I see a pretty young girl on the subway reading sides for an audition, my only thought is, ‘Man, am I glad I’m not doing that anymore.’

“I never feel nostalgia, just relief.”

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The star has spoken out over the years about her Hollywood experience as a child, including being sexualised as a young actress. 

“I don’t think you can be a child star without there being some kind of lasting damage,” the actress said per The Guardian, but added she “never felt unsafe”.

Net worth

Wilson has an estimated net worth of $US500,000 (approx. $759,000) according to Celebrity Net Worth. 

What happened to Mara Wilson’s parents?

Wilson was grieving the death of her mother Suzie from breast cancer around the time Matilda came out in 1996. This would have a huge impact on the star.

“Sometimes I wish I had stopped [acting] after Matilda because I think that that was really the peak for me,” Wilson admitted to NPR in 2016.

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What the cast of Matilda is up to now, 27 years on

“There wasn’t really anywhere that I could go from there. So I think that I was already starting to age out of acting,” she said, adding it “would have been a good time to re-evaluate things.”

The movie ended up being dedicated to Wilson’s mother. 

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Are Mara Wilson and Danny DeVito still friends?

While filming Matilda, Danny DeVito and his wife Rhea Perlman – who played Wilson’s on-screen parents – took care of the star throughout her mother’s health battle. 

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Wilson said the couple would have her over at their house or take her to the theatre or cinema while her mum was in hospital.

“So it really did keep me distracted and it really did keep me happy and I had a lot of people on set who really loved me and really took care of me,” she said.

In her 2016 memoir Where Am I Now?, Wilson revealed DeVito showed her mum an early copy of Matilda in hospital before her death prior to the movie release.

And it appears DeVito and Wilson are still in touch years later.

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In 2023, DeVito told The Messenger before the SAG-AFTRA strike they had made plans to reunite on the stage for Matilda in Concert.

In March 2024, the pair stayed true to their promise and met up at the theatre show.

“Last night, we got the band back together! The live screening of Matilda with a full orchestra, and Danny narrating, was incredible,” she shared on Instagram.

What is Mara Wilson doing now?

After her 2000 film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Wilson took a big break from acting.

She’s done the occasional voice role over the years and starred in the 2020 film Our Popcorn Movie Dystopia – Some More News: The Movie.

After leaving acting behind, the star focused on her education and graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2009.

The star also works as a writer and a narrator, doing voice narrations for audiobooks.

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In May, Wilson delighted fans with a photo from a reunion with her on-screen siblings in Mrs. Doubtfire, played by Lisa Jakub and Matthew Lawrence.

“So funny that the same week I went to San Francisco, I got to reunite with my Doubtfire siblings! It’s always a joy to see @lisa.jakub and @matthewlawrence…” she wrote.

In June 2024 the star shared a sneaky pic of her at New York Comic Con with a poster of her in Matilda in the background.

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