Much has changed with Mia Sara since her star-making turn in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).
The 58-year-old actress is best known for playing Sloane Peterson, the raven-haired girlfriend of Matthew Broderick’s title character who accompanies him and his friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) as they skip school for an adventure in Chicago.
Mia (born Mia Sarapochiello) had already made a splash playing Princess Lili in Ridley Scott’s Legend, opposite star Tom Cruise, but the promise of her early film roles mostly failed to translate into juicier roles, and instead she spent much of the 1990s in largely ignored low-budget films.
The film and television star had few roles throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, before she went as far as to step away from Hollywood with a hiatus that began in 2013 and lasted 11 years, during which she focused on other interests, like writing poetry.
But Mia — who now looks unrecognizable — recently made her return to acting opposite Tom Hiddleston in Mike Flanagan’s film The Life Of Chuck, which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters in June.
Now, as she makes her triumphant return to Hollywood, DailyMail.com takes a look at what Mia Sara looks like now.
Mia Sara, 58, has come a long way since her star-making turn in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). After her early successes, the actress’ career seemed to flounder in the 1990s and 2000s; pictured with Matthew Broderick
Mia stepped away from Hollywood from 2013 to 2024 after becoming less prolific in recent decades. But as she comes roaring back in The Life Of Chuck, the Daily Mail takes a look at the unrecognizable star’s new look
Mia looks shockingly different from how she did when she had her best-known roles in the mid-’80s through early ’90s.
The actress now sports a chic salt-and-pepper bob that’s a significant change from the lustrous brunette tresses she once displayed.
She made a splash in June when she walked the red carpet at the Life Of Chuck premiere in a ruffled black blouse and a figure-hugging medium-length skirt.
Mia also appeared to have added some tattoos that were part of her look during her earliest successes.
Born Mia Sarapochiello in Brooklyn, New York, she was just 16 when she landed her big break as a princess to Cruise’s man from the woods on Legend.
The movie was anchored by Hollywood heavyweights — not just Cruise, but also superstar director Ridley Scott — yet still turned out to be a box office flop.
But just one year later, Mia became a star across America when she starred as Sloane Peterson, the girlfriend of mischievous high school senior, Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick).
Ferris gets his famous day off by pretending to be sick, and manages to get Sloane to join him by feeding the school the fake story that her grandmother has died.
Mia looked shockingly different at the Life Of Chuck premiere in June. She had traded out her lustrous raven locks for a chic salt-and-pepper bob
During her hiatus, she has focused on writing poetry, though her role in the recent Stephen King adaptation may signal a return to acting
Seen in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Patrick Dempsey
Sara also starred in the 1994 film Timecop, but she had few high-profile projects through the rest of the ’90s and the 2000s; pictured on the set of Timecop
Upon its release, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off became a thunderous box office success, earning $70 million with just a $5 million budget, and remains one of the best-loved high school comedies to ever made.
Shortly after the movie came out, Mia showered praise on both Cruise and Matthew Broderick, whom she noted ‘had much more experience’ than she did.
‘Tom was dedicated and I learned a lot of good work habits from him. And I respected Matt because I had seen him on Broadway. He was one of my favorites,’ she told UPI.
In the 1990s she featured in such movies as the Melanie Griffith drama A Stranger Among Us – directed by Sidney Lumet of 12 Angry Men fame – as well as the smash hit Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie Timecop.
She continued acting on TV Programs like CSI: NY and movies like Dorothy & The Witches of Oz until 2013, when she took a hiatus that ultimately lasted longer than a decade.
As early as 2010, she had remarked that she was ‘mostly retired’ as she had become a ‘mother with a really noisy, difficult house to maintain!’
The New York native also noted: ‘I’m a poet, so for the last couple of years that’s what I’ve been focusing on,’ in an interview with Total Film.
In an online biography on her writing-focused website, she says she ‘used to be an actress, but recovered her senses and now she writes.’
Mia has continued to work but has rarely been seen on screen; she’s pictured at The Life Of Chuck screening in LA with Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill, right, and Benjamin Pajak, left
She tied the knot with her second husband, Jim Henson’s son Brian (R), in 2010. She was previously married to Sean Connery’s son Jason from 1996 to 2002; pictured June 2 in LA
During her hiatus, she focused her energies on her writing, and her poems have appeared in multiple publications and literary journals.
Mia now has a daughter named Amelia, 20, by her second and current husband Brian Henson, who is the son of The Muppets creator Jim Henson.
She also has a 28-year-old son called Dashiell by her first husband Jason Connery, whose father was none other than James Bond legend Sean Connery.
After many years away from the movies, she is back with The Life Of Chuck.
Mia features amid a star-studded cast including Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Hamill, Jacob Tremblay, Karen Gillan and Nick Offerman.
The movie earned a warm response from the critics when it premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, and will be out in theaters soon.
The film is adapted from a story by Stephen King — who is a regular source of inspiration for writer–director Mike Flanagan — but the source material is one of King’s few non-horror stories.
