Mara Wilson

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Mara Wilson
Wilson in a stage production of Cinderella (2005)
Birth name	Mara Elizabeth Wilson
Born	July 24, 1987 (age 19) Los Angeles, California
Official site	marawilson.com
Notable roles	Susan Walker (Miracle on 34th Street) Matilda Wormwood (Matilda)

Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an award-winning American actress.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Filmography 2.1 Films 2.2 Television guest appearances 2.3 Theater 3 Awards 3.1 Won 3.2 Nominated 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Wilson is the daughter of Michael Wilson and the late Suzie Shapiro, who died of breast cancer in 1996 when Wilson was nine years old. She has three older brothers: Danny, Jon and Joel (eight, six and four years her senior, respectively) and a younger sister, Anna, five years her junior. Her mother was Jewish and Wilson was raised in the Jewish religion.[1]

Wilson attended John Burroughs High School and participated in a youth summer program at Idyllwild Arts Academy before transferring there in her junior year of high school.

Wilson starred in the films Miracle on 34th Street, Matilda, and A Simple Wish. She won a Young Artist Award for 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". Wilson also appeared in the famous film Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Matthew Lawrence and Lisa Jakub. Wilson also made several appearances on the primetime soap opera Melrose Place, playing the role of Nikki Petrova. Before she was in films, she and her eldest brother, Danny, did commercials for Texaco, Marshalls, Bank of America, and Oscar Mayer.

Wilson's appearance in Thomas and the Magic Railroad is her last major film role to date. She now works as a stage actress. 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, before becoming a freshman at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University that fall.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Films

• Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) as Lily.
• A Simple Wish (1997) as Anabel Greening.
• Matilda (1996) as Matilda Wormwood.
• Miracle on 34th Street (1994) as Susan Walker.
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) as Natalie 'Nattie' Hillard.

[edit] Television guest appearances

• Melrose Place (1993) playing Nikki Petrova
  • Hot and Bothered (season 2 episode 6) (13 October 1993)
  • Flirting with Disaster (season 2 episode 7) (20 October 1993)
  • Married to It (season 2 episode 9) (3 November 1993)
  • Duet for One (season 2 episode 13) (1 December 1993)
  • Under the Mistletoe (season 2 episode 15) (22 December 1993)
• Late Show with David Letterman (August 23, 1996)
• Pearl (1996) playing Samantha Stein
  • The Tutor season 1 episode 11 (11 December 1996)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (July 8, 1997)
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show (July 9, 1997)
• Batman Beyond (1999) playing Tamara (voice)
  • Mind Games (season 2 episode 10) (4 December 1999)

[edit] Theater

• Cinderella (2005)

[edit] Awards

[edit] Won

• 1997 - YoungStar 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

[edit] Nominated

• 1995 - ShoWest Award - Young Star of the Year
• 1997 - Saturn Award - 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

[edit] Trivia

• When she was nine years old, she collected Ty Beanie Babies and was interviewed in Beanie World Magazine. Her first Beanie Baby was Speedy the Turtle, from a friend's birthday party.

• At one point while a student at New York University (NYU), someone posing as Wilson was friends with many fans on the popular social networking site Facebook. It was deactivated when friends of Wilson insisted the imposter take it down. While active, the controversial account displayed several unpublished photos of the actress in its album. ^{[verification needed][citation needed]}

[edit] External links

• Mara Wilson at the Internet Movie Database
• Mara Wilson at TV.com
• Mara Wilson's biography on filmbug
• marawilson.com