Hollywood Mara Wilson

Profile

Name : Mara Wilson

Full/Alt. name : Mara Elizabeth Wilson

Date of Birth : Friday July 24 1987

Born : Los Angeles (California)

Nationality : American

Height : 5' 4" (1.63 m)

Biography

Mara Elizabeth Wilson was born on July 24th, 1987 in Los Angeles, USA. She is a middle child with three elder brothers - Danny (b. 1979), Jon (b. 1981) and Joel (b. 1983) - and a younger sister Anna (b. 1993).When Mara was five years old, her eldest brother Danny started acting in television adverts and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. She went on to appear in a number of commercials including those advertising Texaco and the Bank of America. She also appeared in a movie with Robin Williams in the film Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), which is based on Anne Fine's novel 'Madame Doubtfire'. In the 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 become 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) (TV). But her big break came with the remake of Miracle on 34th Street (1994) where she had a starring role as the little cynical girl who learned the magic of Santa Claus. Ironically, Mara is Jewish so 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 Dahl's 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 as the granddaughter of Peter Fonda in the film version of the British children's favorite Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). Unfortunately, the film did not do well in the box office and also signaled an end to Mara's childhood career as she focused on her school career and just enjoying her teenage years.In June 2005, Mara graduated from Idyllwild School of Music & Arts and has since gone on to attend New York University where she is studying drama so perhaps the big screen has not seen the last of her!

Personal life

Mara Elizabeth Wilson was born in Los Angele, California, to Susan Shapiro. She has 3 older brothers, Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister, Anna. Her mother Suzie died from breast cancer in 1996.
She is a 2009 graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. In an interview she stated that she does not want to be a celebrity, although she did add that she was considering doing a small film, just not mainstream.

Career

Wilson first became interested in acting when she was four. Wilson's film debut was in the 1993 hit Mrs. Doubtfire, followed by the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. 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 the title character in Matilda, adapted from the popular children's book by author 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 YoungStar 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. Her appearance in Thomas and the Magic Railroad was her last major film role to date.
In 1993, Wilson had a recurring role as Nikkie Petrova on the primetime soap opera Melrose Place. She also played Barbara Barton in the 1994 television film, A Time to Heal; and Willow Johnson in the 1999 television film, Balloon Farm.
Mara Wilson sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards telecast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy.
In August 2005, she starred as the lead character in a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella performed at the Ector Theater in Odessa, Texas.

Movies list

Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)

Balloon Farm (1999)

A Simple Wish (1997)

Matilda (1996)

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

A Time to Heal (1994)

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Awards

Won
1995 – ShoWest Award – Young Star of the Year
1997 – Young Star Award – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film for Matilda
1998 – Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a Feature Film, Leading Young Actress for A Simple Wish

Nominated
1997 – Saturn Award – Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Matilda
1997 – Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress for Matilda
1998 – Saturn Award – Best Performance by a Younger Actor/Actress for A Simple Wish
1998 – YoungStar Award – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film for A Simple Wish
2000 – YoungStar Award – Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy for Thomas and the Magic Railroad
2001 – Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress for Thomas and the Magic Railroad