Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress. She rose to prominence as a child actress playing Natalie Hillard in the film Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)^[2] and went on to play Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), the title character in Matilda (1996), and Annabel Greening in A Simple Wish (1997). Following her role as Lily in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000), Wilson took a 12-year hiatus from acting to focus on writing. She returned to acting in 2012 and has predominantly worked in web series.

Mara Elizabeth Wilson was born in Burbank, California, on July 24, 1987,^[3] the oldest daughter of Burbank PTA school volunteer Suzie (née Shapiro; 1953–1996) and KTLA broadcast engineer Mike Wilson.^[4] Her mother was Jewish, while her father is half Irish.^[5][6][7]

Wilson's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995,^[8] and died on April 26, 1996. The film Matilda was dedicated to her memory.^[9] Wilson later recalled that this affected her passion for acting.^[10] At age 12, Wilson was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder.^[11] She has also been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[12] She attended Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, California. After graduation in 2005, Wilson relocated to New York City to continue her studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2009.^[13] Wilson appeared in her own one-woman show called Weren't You That Girl? while in college.^[14]

When Wilson was five, she became interested in acting after watching her older brother Danny appear in television commercials. Wilson’s parents were initially disinclined, but eventually appearing in several commercials for businesses, she was invited to audition for the 1993 comedy film Mrs. Doubtfire. Producers were impressed and awarded Wilson the role of Natalie Hillard. The following year, Wilson appeared in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street.^[15]

In 1994, Wilson was cast in a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on Melrose Place and played Barbara Barton in the television film A Time to Heal.^{[citation needed]} She sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards broadcast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy.^[16] In 1995, Wilson won the ShoWest Award for Young Star of the Year.

Wilson's film work caught the attention of Danny DeVito, and she was cast as the main protagonist Matilda Wormwood in the 1996 film Matilda. She was nine years old at the time. Wilson was nominated for three awards for her performance, winning the YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film. In 1997, Wilson starred in A Simple Wish alongside Martin Short.^[17] Although she was nominated for three awards again, the film mostly received negative reviews by critics.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, Wilson went to a table reading for What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, but she did not get the part.^[18] A year later, Wilson unsuccessfully auditioned for the 1998 remake of Disney's The Parent Trap but the role was given to Lindsay Lohan after Wilson was deemed too young.^[19] In 1999, she portrayed Willow Johnson in the film for The Wonderful World of Disney titled Balloon Farm, based on a fiction book.^[20]

In 2000, Wilson appeared in the fantasy film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which was her last film. The film was universally panned by critics and performed poorly at the box office. Wilson retired from film work shortly afterward.^[21] She received a script for the 2001 film Donnie Darko but declined to audition for the film.^[22] After retiring from film acting, Wilson began stage acting.^{[citation needed]} Her theater credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cinderella. Wilson starred in her own live shows Weren't You That Girl? and What Are You Afraid Of?^[23]

In 2012, Wilson appeared briefly in one episode of a web series called Missed Connection in the role of Bitty and made special appearances on internet review shows for That Guy with the Glasses—most notably a comedic turn playing an adult Matilda during a review of Matilda by The Nostalgia Chick, Lindsay Ellis. That year, Wilson explained why she quit film acting: "Film acting is not very fun. Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the director's eyes, you 'get it right', does not allow for very much creative freedom. The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare."^[24]

In May 2013, Wilson wrote an article for Cracked.com, offering her opinion of the delinquency of some former child stars.^[25] As of 2013, Wilson worked for Publicolor.^[26] Her play Sheeple was produced in 2013 for the New York International Fringe Festival.^[27] In an interview that December, Wilson stated that her film acting days are over,^[28] and that she is instead focusing on writing.^[29] Wilson’s book Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame was published on September 13, 2016.^[30]

Wilson has a recurring role on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale as "The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home", as well as her own storytelling show called What Are You Afraid Of?^[31][32] In 2016, Wilson made a brief return to television in a Mrs. Doubtfire-inspired episode of Broad City, in which she played a waitress where the comical Heimlich scene from the film was re-enacted.^[33][34] That same year, Wilson voiced Jill Pill, a writer/director anthropomorphic spider, in season 3 of BoJack Horseman.^[35] Wilson voiced Liv Amara/Diane "Di" Amara in Big Hero 6: The Series.^[36]

In a 2017 NPR interview, The Simpsons voice actress Nancy Cartwright stated that a young Wilson was the inspiration for a character's voice on the episode "Bart Sells His Soul".^[37]

In 2015, Wilson collaborated with Project UROK, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to aid teens with mental illness.^[38]

Wilson has three older brothers: Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister, Anna.^[39] She is a cousin of political commentator and media host Ben Shapiro,^[40][41] whom she has disavowed due to his conservative views and her contrasting progressive beliefs;^[42] the two have no contact with each other.^[43] Wilson was raised Jewish,^[44] but became an atheist at the age of 15.^[45]

In 2015, Wilson appeared in a video by the mental health charity Project UROK in which she discussed the mental illnesses she has experienced, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive–compulsive disorder.^[46] Wilson discussed her history of mental illness on Paul Gilmartin's podcast The Mental Illness Happy Hour.^[47]

Wilson came out as bisexual during an interview with Medium in September 2017.^[48] In a 2017 op-ed in Elle magazine, she defended the then-13-year-old actress Millie Bobby Brown after commentators sexualized Brown's public image.^[49][50] In a 2021 op-ed in The New York Times, Wilson commented on the documentary Framing Britney Spears and the parallels between her own life as a child star and Britney Spears'.^[51] Wilson recalled an incident in which she was asked to comment on the burgeoning sexuality of an 18-year-old Spears when she herself was barely 13, and expressed relief at largely escaping oversexualization of her public image compared to Spears. Wilson described her disappointment when a reporter called her a "spoiled brat" after she stated that she wanted the day off on her 13th birthday instead of granting interviews.^[51]

As of 2013, Wilson resided in the Queens borough of New York City.^[52]

• Sheeple (play, 2013)
• Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame (2016)
• Good Girls Don't (2023)