It’s been three decades since My Girl premiered in theaters. The coming-of-age film took Anna Chlumsky from being an unknown child actress to one of the top child stars in the 1990s. Not only did the film become the biggest surprise hit of 1991 but a beloved cult classic amongst Gen X and Millennials. That enduring love for the drama has etched Chlumsky as a nine-year-old in some fans’ minds. As grateful as she is to the film, the Veep alum has gotten tired of fans asking about it. The actress was honest when spilling why she’s over being asked about her breakthrough role.
For many devoted fans, the kiss between Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin left an impression on them. That moment and many others have led to the film being regarded as one of Culkin's best movies. After stopping and restarting her acting career, the My Girl star is done with the fan inquiries about the 1991 film. It appeared Anna Chlumsky has moved on, but fans haven’t. While trying to skirt about the classic film, Elle asked the actress about fielding questions related to it, eliciting a harsh response from her.
Yes. Unequivocally. You ever get sick of talking about that recital you did when you were 10?
Anna Chlumsky does have a point. No one wants to be reminded of every moment from their childhood. As iconic as the film is, Chlumsky has grown as an actress since playing Vada Sultenfuss. In the same interview, the Inventing Anna star opened up about her opposition to talking about nothing other than her first film. She revealed what led to her becoming weary of the My Girl questions.
Even though it’s been 30 years, people still want to be like, ‘Oh no, but I still own you.' It’s really strange. I used to just think it was lazy. But now I have to think that there’s something more to it.
Fans becoming possessive of certain actors based on certain roles can verge into scary or creepy territory as Anna Chlumsky alluded to. Of course, there will always be those fans who will always see her as Vada and nothing more. Actors like Sylvester Stallone have taken those questions and turned them on their heads by trolling fans in some cases. Other fan interactions can turn scary as was the case with the kidnapping attempt of WWE's Sonya Deville. But given her history in recent years, this spoke more to nostalgia turning into something more bizarre. It also leaned into the typecasting many child stars must fight after achieving stardom at a young age.
As much as Chlumsky hates the question, the film touched the hearts of audiences. After debuting in 1991, My Girl became a sleeper hit, grossing over $121 million at the box office. It went on to spawn a 1994 sequel, which scored less acclaim and grossed only $28 million at the box office.
At least, now, Anna Chlumsky has grown beyond My Girl after starring in several stage productions and indie films. Chlumsky regained her mainstream success by starring in all seven seasons of HBO’s acclaimed comedy Veep. After Veep completed its run, she took a small break before reemerging in the Rugrats reboot as the business-obsessed Charlotte Pickles. In 2022, viewers can catch Chlumsky playing investigative journalist Vivian in Netflix’s Inventing Anna. If you want to catch the miniseries and other shows on Netflix, you can subscribe to Netflix. You can see what Chlumsky and her Veep co-stars are doing now to see where to catch them next.
