In the early 1990s, the world fell in love with the adorable Mara Wilson, the child actor known for playing the precocious little girl in family classics like Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street.
The young star, who turned 37 on July 24, seemed poised for success but as she grew older, she stopped being “cute” and disappeared from the big screen.
“Hollywood was burned out on me,” she says, adding that “if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless.
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson stole the hearts of millions of fans when she starred as Robin Williams’ youngest child in Mrs. Doubtfire.
The California-born star had previously appeared in commercials when she received the invitation to star in one of the biggest-grossing comedies in Hollywood history.
“My parents were proud, but they kept me grounded. If I ever said something like, ‘I’m the greatest!’ my mother would remind me, ‘You’re just an actor. You’re just a kid,’” Wilson, now 37, said.
After her big screen debut, she won the role of Susan Walker – the same role played by Natalie Wood in 1947 – in 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
In an essay for the Guardian, Wilson writes of her audition, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” Referencing the Oscar-winning actor who played her mom in Mrs. Doubtfire, she continues, “but I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.”
‘Most unhappy’
Next, Wilson played the magical girl in 1996’s Matilda, starring alongside Danny DeVito and his real-life wife Rhea Perlman.
It was also the same year her mother, Suzie, lost her battle with breast cancer.
“I didn’t really know who I was…There was who I was before that, and who I was after that. She was like this omnipresent thing in my life,” Wilson says of the deep grief she experienced after losing her mother. She adds, “I found it kind of overwhelming. Most of the time, I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died.”
The young girl was exhausted and when she was “very famous,” she says she “was the most unhappy.”
When she was 11, she begrudgingly played her last major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. “The characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] script…Ugh, I thought. How cute,” she tells the Guardian.
‘Burned out’
But her exit from Hollywood wasn’t only her decision.
As a young teenager, the roles weren’t coming in for Wilson, who was going through puberty and outgrowing the “cute.”
She was “just another weird, nerdy, loud girl with bad teeth and bad hair, whose bra strap was always showing.”
“At 13, no one had called me cute or mentioned the way I looked in years, at least not in a positive way,” she says.
Wilson was forced to deal with the pressures of fame and the challenges of transitioning to adulthood in the public eye. Her changing image had a profound effect on her.
“I had this Hollywood idea that if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless. Because I directly tied that to the demise of my career. Even though I was sort of burned out on it, and Hollywood was burned out on me, it still doesn’t feel good to be rejected.”
Mara as the writer
Wilson, now a writer, authored her first book “Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame,” in 2016.
The book discusses “everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer ‘cute’ enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity.”
She also wrote “Good Girls Don’t” a memoir that examines her life as a child actor living up to expectations.
“Being cute just made me miserable,” she writes in her essay for the Guardian. “I had always thought it would be me giving up acting, not the other way around.”
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THE END OF A LEGEND. PRAYERS NEEDED FOR CELINE DION
Since the singer seemed to have lost a considerable amount of weight, magazines have been covering Céline Dion’s health.
Her admirers expressed worry, claiming she no longer looks like the person she used to be. However, she insisted that she ought to be left alone.
The singer, who was born in Canada, said to those who were critiquing her appearance in an interview recently “If I like it, I don’t want to talk about it. Don’t bother. Don’t take a picture. If you like it, I’ll be there. If you don’t, leave me alone.”
However, it was recently revealed by one of her representatives that Dion experiences muscle spasms, which interfere with her performance on stage. Dion was consequently forced to postpone her concerts in Las Vegas from November of last year to January 19 to February 5, 2022, in addition to the pandemic that altered the path of many people’s lives.
“Celine has been experiencing severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing,” the statement read.
“Her medical team continues to evaluate and treat her. However, the symptoms she is experiencing are prohibiting her from participating in the ongoing rehearsals for the new show.”
The singer herself shared her sadness on Instagram about the postponed concert dates as well as her ongoing health problems.
“Hello, everyone. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person,” Dion said in the video.
“As you know, I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now. I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.
“Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people. While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that I’ve been having. Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I’m used to.”
“I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle,” she said. “All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life and it’s what I love to do the most.
“I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage performing for you. I always give a hundred percent when I do my shows, but my condition is now allowing me to give you that right now,” she continued.
Dion concluded the video saying: “I want to thank you so much for your encouraging wishes and love and support on my social media. This means a lot to me.
“Take care of yourselves. Be well. I love you guys so much and I really hope I can see you again real soon.”
Dion has a long history with Las Vegas, which she considers to be her home. Her history with “Sin City” began in 2003 when she embarked on a four-year residency in Las Vegas, which proved to be a great success, bringing in over $385 million.
Billboard reports that after a few years, Dion made a comeback to the Las Vegas stage for a residency at Ceasar’s Palace, where she performed 1,141 times, breaking the previous record.
She also owns the records for the two all-time best-selling residencies.
Dion had previously stated that her tour would start in May 2022 due to health concerns, but the dates have since been further postponed. She postponed her residency in Las Vegas at the same time.
She made $680 million from her two previous Las Vegas residencies alone. According to reports, she has a net worth of approximately $800 million, with revenue of $37 million in 2019.
Based on her earnings for the Celine residency show, it has been reported that the singer lost approximately $70 million in revenue due to her absence from the stage.
Aside from that, she is content that her vacation allowed her to spend more time with her kids
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