Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress, voice actress, stage actress, writer, and playwright. She is best known for her roles as Nattie Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda Wormwood in Matilda.

Mara Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California on July 24, 1987. She is the oldest daughter of Mike Wilson, a television broadcast engineer, and the late Suzie Shapiro Wilson, a homemaker.^[1] Wilson's mother was Jewish and her father is of part Irish descent.^[2][3][4][5] Mara was raised Jewish,^[6] but she became an atheist when she was 15.^[7] She has three older brothers, Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister, Anna.^[8] Wilson's cousin is political commentator Ben Shapiro.^[9] Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995. By the time the doctors found the cancer it was too late.^[10] Suzie Wilson died on April 26, 1996 while Wilson was filming "Matilda," which was dedicated to Suzie's memory.^[11] Wilson's father has since remarried. After her mother died, Wilson lost her passion for acting.^[12]

When Wilson was twelve, she was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder.^[13]

Wilson became interested in acting after watching her oldest brother Danny act. Mara's parents refused to let her act, but they eventually reluctantly agreed to let her go into acting.^[14] After acting in commercials for Lunchables, Bank of America, and Texaco, and Marshall's Mara was invited to audition for the 1993 comedy film "Mrs. Doubtfire", and won the part. This was followed by the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street.^[15] In 1994, she had a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on Melrose Place and played Barbara Barton in the television film A Time to Heal.

Wilson sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards telecast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy.^[16] 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 titular character in Matilda.

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 Matilda and A Simple Wish. In 1999, she played Willow Johnson in the 1999 Disney Channel television film Balloon Farm. Wilson auditioned for the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, but she was considered to be too young for the role.^[17] In 1998 Wilson went to a table reading of What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, but she did not get the part.^[18] Her appearance in the 2000 film Thomas and the Magic Railroad was her last major film role to date. At that point, scripts were being sent to her so that she did not have to go to auditions.^[19] Before she retired from acting, she got the script for Donnie Darko, but declined to audition for the film.^[20]

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.

In 2012, 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."^[21]

In May 2013, Wilson wrote an article for online magazine Cracked.com, offering her opinion of the delinquency of some former child stars.^[5] She now works for Publicolor and is hoping to break into young adult novels,^[22] and has written her first Off Broadway play, entitled Sheeple.^[23] In an interview that December, Wilson stated that her film acting days are over,^[24] and that she is now focusing on writing instead of film acting.^[25]

Wilson has a recurring role on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale as "The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home." Wilson has been signed to Penguin Books. Her debut book (K) for Kid will be available in 2016.^[26] Wilson has her own storytelling show called What Are You Afraid Of?^[27] Her goal is to turn What Are You Afraid Of? into a podcast.^[28] In 2016, Wilson made a brief return to television by appearing as a waitress on an episode of "Broad City".^[29]

Wilson went to the Idyllwild Arts Academy near Palm Springs, California, and graduated in 2009 from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.^[5][30][31] While at New York University she appeared in her own one woman show called Weren't You That Girl?^[32]

Wilson has struggled with anxiety and depression. In 2015, she teamed up with Project UROK, a nonprofit organization whose mission to aid teens with mental illness.^[33] Wilson appeared in a video in which she talks about the mental illnesses she has experienced, including anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.^[34]

As of 2013 she lives in New York City, in part, she has explained, because "No one gives a shit about celebrities. Susan Sarandon comes to your deli, Lou Reed's in your kickboxing class, David Mamet flips you off, whatever, most New Yorkers really don't care."^[5]

• 1995 – ShoWest Award – Young Star of the Year^[42]

• Cinderella (2005)
• Weren't You That Girl? (2009)
• What Are You Afraid Of? (2014)

• Sheeple (2013)
• (K) for Kid (2016)^[43]
• Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame (September 13, 2016)^[44]

• Mara Wilson Writes Stuff
• Mara Wilson at IMDb
• Mara Wilson at TV.com
• Sheeple
• Mara Wilson on Twitter