Raise your hand if you were emotionally victimized by the 1991 coming-of-age romance My Girl starring Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin. Unanimous votes, I’m assuming, because if you saw this movie growing up your reaction was either “What happened?” or “Oh my god why would you show this to children”. Which brings us to today’s question- where’s Anna Chlumsky these days?
You know the drill though, gotta start at the beginning. Anna was born just before Christmas of 1980 in the freezing Chicago suburbs.
With both parent’s musicians and being an only child, she got into the entertainment business early by way of modeling for advertisements alongside her mother.
It wouldn’t be long after a bit part in the John Candy classic Uncle Buck landed her the starring role of Vada in a film that would traumatize generations.
Gold Before Girls
We’re not unlocking those memories here though, nor or we going to talk about the sequel which was take it or leave it at best. No, Anna Chlumsky’s true early classic is the dark horse of 1995, Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain.
Could it have just stuck with the subtitle and not the Gold Diggers part? Absolutely. Did it do that and avoid a phrasing disaster for generations to come? Hell no.
The film was a fun coming-of-age adventure with Anna alongside Christina Ricci as cave-diving best friends though, and it was a delightful staple of my grandmother’s VHS collection back in the day.
Anna would keep running through kids’ roles until 1998, deciding to take a break and attend school for a time, going for a degree in International Studies while also meeting her soon-to-be husband Shaun So almost immediately in 2000 and date after the end of her break in 2005.
She would return to acting not long after, making her long-awaited re-debut in the low-budget horror comedy Blood Car. It’s super low budget and about a car that runs on blood, just know that it delivers on the premise and give it a whirl.
Happy Returns
Her love life would see a new development as well in 2008, with an engagement and quick marriage to her boyfriend Shaun So.
While the couple would get engaged in 2007 after seven years together, they wasted no time in getting married at the very start of 2008. They’ve since welcomed two children, one in 2013 and another in 2016.
She would follow up with role after role in rapid-fire succession, moving from 30 Rock to Law and Order before moving into film roles again with underrated satire In the Loop and Hallmark Christmas moneymaker 12 Men of Christmas. Get that Hallmark bag, Anna.
Not to say she would play everything safe, making recurring appearances in Hannibal before NBC did what it was so cruelly good at in the 2010s. What could have been…
Veep
She would take up a regular role on Veep as well early in the decade, starring as Amy Brookheimer in the political comedy alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfuss for the seven-year run.
While she would welcome kids during that time as well, she wouldn’t let it keep her from acting. She was on set only weeks after giving birth to both children, which, more power to you. That had to be exhausting.
Her roles after Veep have been interesting, to say the least, with a role in Inventing Anna alongside Ozark’s Julia Garner as well as the terrible, terrible attempt at LGBT+ representation in horror They/Them (as a nonbinary person, this is going to be my thirteenth reason).
Despite that, she recovered with a voice role as Charlotte Pickles in the Rugrats reboot which has been meh at best so far. But hey, you work with what you’re given.
Where is Anna Chlumsky Now?
No doubt Anna still has plenty of steam left in her for the future but may be slowing down a bit to enjoy her family life.
While she only has one future acting project lined up, the actress and her family have lived in New York City for years with Anna often taking up roles on and off Broadway while not actively filming.
One thing Anna has made clear though, is that she won’t be returning to the role that brought her into the spotlight. Despite the assertions of Dan Akroyd, Anna has assured audiences and fans of My Girl that there is not a sequel being produced or even given thought to. Which is probably a good thing.
When asked for comment, Dan Akroyd could only be seen hovering in a nearby cornfield, ascending towards a light in the sky. Good for him.
For now, Anna is going to live the mom life and act where she wants, when she wants. With plenty of fantastic roles behind her, there can only be more that lay ahead in the actress’s bright future.
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