Mara Wilson, the former child actor you likely remember from Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, is now 29. She’s also the author of a new book of essays, Where Am I Now?: Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, in which she reflects on the particular weirdness of being a child star. For example, putting up with creepy questions from clueless adults. She elaborated on this in an interview with A.V. Club:
I can’t even count how many times I did interviews with people and they asked me if I had a boyfriend. Keep in mind that I was, I guess, mild to moderately famous from ages 6 to 13. Of course, I didn’t have a boyfriend then. I didn’t even have a camp boyfriend then. I was such a nerd. It just wasn’t something I would have wanted. And I didn’t want to act like an adult.
You’d think by now, Wilson would be done dealing with people bent on sexualizing her childhood self — but no, apparently not. “I do have guys every now and then who say — it’s always guys by the way, it’s never women — who say, ‘You were my childhood crush, can we date?’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘There’s something kind of creepy about that. Do you hear yourself?’”
