Mara Wilson

In a 2019 interview with the website bi.org, Wilson stated about her sexuality:

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

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? In 2016, Wilson made a brief return to television in a Mrs. Doubtfire-inspired episode of Broad City; she played a waitress where the comical Heimlich scene from the movie was reenacted. That same year, she also voiced Jill Pill, a writer/director anthropomorphic spider, in season 3 of BoJack Horseman.

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

At age 12, Wilson was diagnosed with OCD. She has also been diagnosed with ADHD. In 2015, she collaborated with Project UROK, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to aid teens with mental illness. She appeared in a video to discuss the mental illnesses she has experienced, including anxiety, depression, and OCD. She also discussed her history of mental illness on Paul Gilmartin's podcast The Mental Illness Happy Hour.

As of 2013, Wilson resides in Queens, New York. She is bisexual.

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." However, Wilson made a return to acting in the 2015 comedy-drama film Billie Bob Joe.

There were also a lot of reasons I didn't identify with it for a really long time. I think [by] the time I was coming of age in the 2000s, there was sort of this idea of: "you're doing it for attention."

In 1997, Wilson went to a table reading for What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, but she did not get the part. A year later, Wilson unsuccessfully auditioned for the 1998 remake of Disney's The Parent Trap; the role was given to Lindsay Lohan after Wilson was deemed too young. In 1999, she portrayed Willow Johnson in the 1999 Disney Channel television film Balloon Farm, based on a fiction book. In 2000, Wilson appeared in the fantasy-adventure family film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which was her last film as a child actor. Wilson retired from film work shortly afterward. Wilson received a film script for the 2001 film Donnie Darko, but she declined to audition for the film.

Wilson sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards broadcast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy. In 1995, she won the ShoWest Award for Young Star of the Year. Her film work caught the attention of Danny DeVito, and Wilson was cast as the main protagonist, Matilda Wormwood, in the 1996 film Matilda. 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, she starred in A Simple Wish alongside Martin Short. Although Wilson was nominated for three awards, the film mostly received negative reviews by critics.

Wilson became interested in acting after watching her older brother, Danny, appear in television commercials. Initially, Wilson's parents were disinclined but eventually agreed to let her into acting. After appearing in several commercials for business companies, such as Lunchables, Bank of America, Texaco, and Marshalls, Wilson was invited to audition for the 1993 comedy film Mrs. Doubtfire. Producers were impressed and awarded her the role of Natalie Hillard. The following year, Wilson appeared in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street. In 1994, she was cast in a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on Melrose Place, and played Barbara Barton in the television film A Time to Heal.

Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress and writer. She rose to fame as a child for playing Natalie Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and went on to play Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Matilda Wormwood in Matilda (1996), and Lily Stone in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). She retired from acting in 2000 and has since focused on writing, but returned to acting in 2012.

Wilson was born in Burbank, California, on July 24, 1987, the oldest daughter of KTLA 5 News broadcast engineer Mike Wilson and homemaker and Burbank PTA school volunteer Suzie Wilson (née Shapiro; 1953–1996). Her mother was Jewish, while her father is half Irish. She was raised Jewish and became an atheist when she was 15. She has three older brothers named Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister named Anna. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995, and died on April 26, 1996. The film Matilda was dedicated to her memory. Wilson later recalled that this affected her passion for acting. Wilson attended Idyllwild Arts Academy near Palm Springs, California. After graduation in 2005, Wilson relocated to New York City, where she continued her studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated in 2009. She appeared in her own one-woman show called Weren't You That Girl? while at university.