In the nineties, Mara Wilson rose to fame thanks to three much-loved family films, beginning with Potato forevergoing by Miracle on 34th Streetuntil reaching Matilda, a 1996 film —based on the Roald Dahl novel of the same name— where she played the title character: a brilliant girl, a lover of books and who through telekinesis is able to put a stop to the adults who mistreat her. However, on the real level, Wilson also had to deal with older people acting improperly and sadly without the help of any magical power.
In a recent interview with Guardian, Mara Wilson recalled the moment she discovered that she was sexualized on the internet. She was just 12 years old, according to her account, when searching for herself on Google, she came across pornographic sites in which her face was superimposed on the body of other girls. In addition, at that time, Wilson was already receiving correspondence from adults with messages of a sexual nature.
“There were people who sent me inappropriate letters and posted things about me on the internet,” revealed the Californian. “I made the mistake of googling myself when I was 12 and saw things I couldn’t get out of my mind.”
From her perspective, it’s impossible to become a Hollywood child star “without some kind of lasting damage.” Even before knowing that she was sexualized, Wilson witnessed various situations on film sets that, although they did not threaten her safety, were nonetheless “doubtful or questionable.”
«[Había] adults telling dirty jokes or sexually harassing in front of me,” he told the outlet. “There were people who asked me if it was okay for me to work overtime, instead of asking my parents.”
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To top it off, in the 1990s, Wilson also had to deal with inappropriate questions from the press. As he shared with Guardian, there were journalists who questioned her about whether she knew what a French kiss was or about which actor seemed the sexiest. She was just seven years old.
On the other hand, Mara Wilson also reflected on the price of fame and having countless fans who, seeing her on the street and coming up to say hello, longed to meet Matilda, only to discover that the personalities of the character and the actress were different. very different.
“I saw that they were disappointed that I wasn’t as smart and pretty and likeable as they expect you to be. I think they expected her to be Matilda, and she’s wonderful, but she’s not real,” she asserted. They met me, this awkward, nerdy teen who got angry sometimes, but couldn’t even turn her anger into powers. [de telequinesis]».
Eventually, Wilson’s career in film and television was hampered, in part, because she was no longer that cute, charming, everyone-pleaser. Puberty, the pressure at work, and the weight of the spotlight—in addition to the personal and family traumas she had suffered at such a young age, such as the death of her mother—had “taken their toll.”
“You think: ‘I’m ugly, I’m fat.’ And there were websites, newspapers and movie critics saying that about me. I got to a point where I became much more reserved, anxious, depressed and cynical. And when you’re like that, it’s very difficult to get a role, because in an audition you have to be open and honest.
In the last two decades, Mara Wilson has focused on writing and assuming discrete roles in some audiovisual projects (mostly web series). Recently, she published a memoir titled Good Girls Don’treleased by the Scribd platform in the format e-book and audiobook.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.