Rarely-Seen ’90s Actress Sparks Fan Concern in Latest Video originally appeared on Parade.
As the quirky tween heroine at the center of the 1995 cult classic film Welcome to the Dollhouse, Heather Matarazzo gained the attention of both critics and viewers who found her now-iconic character all-too relatable. And while the actress has kept a relatively low profile in recent years — after going on to appear in other famous movies like The Princess Diaries and Scream 3 — her fans are still just as devoted as ever, as a recent video proved.
“Hey guys, I know it’s been a minute,” Matarazzo, 42, said in a selfie-style clip shared to TikTok this week.”I have been hibernating, or cocooning, or whatever you might want to call it. But, um, I’m just getting out of my chrysalis, and wanted to say that I’m gonna be at Duke City Comic Con this weekend, the 27th, 28th, 29th,” she continued before getting interrupted by her barking dog.
“I’m letting the people know where I am in case they want a hug or just want to laugh,” Matarazzo said, addressing her pup.
“So yeah, Duke City Comic Con, Albuquerque New Mexico, this weekend,” she added, turning back to the camera. “Sending you all so much love. We need it more than ever right now. The world is a dumpster fire. Let our hearts be fire extinguishers.”
While Matarazzo’s followers completely understood where she was coming from, many couldn’t help but express their concern.
“You look so sad. Are you okay,” one person wanted to know.
“I love you! Definitely understand the hibernation right now. I wish I could hug you!” a second fan added, as a third showed solidarity by writing, “Me too. Definitely have been cocooning. It’s been rough. Much love my friend!”
“I’ve missed you queen,” another commenter declared, as someone else simply wrote, “HUGS!”
In a 2022 interview with Indiewire, Matarazzo opened up about the response to her breakthrough role in Welcome to the Dollhouse, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award.
“To have grown people come up to me crying saying that this movie changed their life, and that the character I played changed their life, was hard to receive,” she said. “It was very, very, very overwhelming.”
“The character that I played was iconic in a lot of respects,” Matarazzo continued, “but then also within that commerce aspect, there is very quickly a box you could get put in, and it was only because of certain indie filmmakers that I was able to escape that very narrowly defined box that the bigger wigs wanted to put me in.”
Related: Iconic ’80s Actress, 68, Stuns Fans With Long-Awaited Update on ‘One of the Best Shows of All Time’
Rarely-Seen ’90s Actress Sparks Fan Concern in Latest Video first appeared on Parade on Jun 26, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
