Where is she now? Matilda's Mara Wilson on childhood stardom

Mara Wilson and Matilda go way back — even before she played the precocious schoolgirl in the 1996 movie.

The Roald Dahl book that inspired the film was a family favourite in the Wilson household. Matilda, a voracious reader, was a symbol of the two traits Wilson's mother valued most: smarts and strength.

"I immediately loved her and wanted to be her. It was an honour to be her," the actress recalls, but she admits that the role cast a shadow on her life. "It felt like everybody liked her more than they liked me."

Now at 29, Wilson has rediscovered herself as an author and playwright.

She joins guest host Candy Palmater to discuss first book Where am I now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, which explores her coming of age in the public eye.

In a reclamation of her own story, the memoir lays bare the struggles of dealing with her mother's death at a young age, growing older and attaining peace.