Mara Wilson's mother Suzie Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 1995, only a month after Mara was tapped to bring Matilda to life, People reported in April 1996. Despite her cancer, Suzie was always on set guiding her young daughter, the report detailed. But, throughout Mara's work on the film, Suzie underwent intensive treatment, including chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and radiation, which put considerable pressure on the family. 

That's when Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman stepped in. When Suzie needed extra help, the couple took care of Mara. "Danny and Rhea would take me to the theater to see a play or to the movies or to just hang out at their house, things like that. And that was all usually done when my mother was in the hospital," Mara told Entertainment Tonight in August 2021. In fact, when Suzie had her mastectomy, Mara spent the previous night at DeVito and Perlman's home, according to People. "It really did keep me distracted and it really did keep me happy," she told ET. DeVito and Perlman became Mara's "favorite aunt and uncle," she told Parade in 2013.

Filming "Matilda" during that difficult period was "the best thing that could have happened to" Mara, she told ET. The extended support system it provided proved crucial. "I definitely feel like having that family there, and having people willing to take care of us and help us out, made it easier," she told Parade.

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