Introduction
Some people try for years to obtain any kind of success in Hollywood. Others manage to do that while they are still kids. However, a lot of times we see former child actors retiring from their fame early in their life, not being able to handle growing-up living under the spotlight. “Casper” and “Flipper” star, Jessica Wesson, is one of them. Where is Jessica Wesson now and why did she quit acting?
Early life and Education
Jessica Wesson was born on 1 January 1981 in California USA, so under the star sign of Capricorn, and of American nationality; her ethnicity is Caucasian. She spent most of her childhood in California with her parents, but hasn’t disclosed anything about them, except that her parents have encouraged her acting career ever since she was young. Nothing else is known about her early years nor her high school.
She enrolled Gadsden State Community College in Alabama, from where she graduated several years later, however, her major remains unknown.
Career
Wesson made her acting debut at the age of 10 as Jennifer Sudarsky in Matt Williams’ “Home Improvement”, a family comedy sitcom from 1992 that went on to become a classic. Her character was the first girlfriend of Zachery Ty Bryan’s character Brad, and she quickly became loved by fans. Her role became recurring, and she appeared as the same character plenty of times until the end of 1993.
During that same year, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her praised performance.In 1994, she played the role of Stacey in her first feature-length film, “Milk Money”, in which she acted alongside star names such as Melanie Griffith. That same year she was also a guest in the popular TV sitcom “Baywatch”, where she played Bridgette in the episode “Western Exposure”.
She also had a guest role in “Boy Meets World”, playing Wendy Jensen in two episodes of the show.
The next year she performed in “Casper”, the family movie about a friendly ghost – a character that was popular in comics and cartoons in earlier decades. The film gained huge success, and Wesson was seen alongside actors such as Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman and Clint Eastwood. In 1996, Wesson acted in “Flipper”, another fan favorite, playing the character of Kim. The movie was inspired by the classic TV show about a dolphin, Flipper, and the friendship between these animals and humans.
Wesson stated a number of times how happy she was to be alongside dolphins and to enjoy in their company.
In 1999, she had the guest role of Riley in the TV series “Odd Man Out”, in the episode called “Batman Forever”.
During 2001, Wesson was cast in the recurring role of Katie Albright in “Judging Amy”. However, she stopped acting after just five episodes on the show, deciding then to retire her acting career, despite being only 20 years old. At the same time during production process of “Judging Amy”, she was acting in action-comedy movie “Longshot” as Kelly Montgomery. Before her career ended, Wesson was nominated for a Golden Globe as well as for a Primetime Emmy Award.
In 2010, Wesson was noticed as a script supervisor for two short films, “The Weird Ones” and “The Other Way Around”.
Personal Life
As a person who decided to quit her acting career and to dedicate her life to more private matters, Wesson keeps most of her personal information away from the media. She is confidential about her marital status, and has never confirmed any relationship or dating rumors. As of March 2020, there is no information about her being married or in any kind of romantic relationship.
There is also no information whether or not she has any children. She has Twitter and Instagram accounts with less than 1000 followers on each – she doesn’t use Facebook. Sources state that Wesson is currently working in a nursing home, St. Martin’s in the Pines, located in Birmingham, Alabama.
Net Worth
Having appeared in several successful movies as a teen, Wesson’s net worth is estimated at over $1 million.
While she was active, her main source of income was her acting career, in movies and series, but also from commercials. One of her best known movies, “Casper”, grossed around $300 million, compared to its budget of around $55 million. As of March 2020, it isn’t known if she owns any real estate or cars.
Physical characteristics
In her grown years, Wesson is considered to be beautiful by many. Her weight and height aren’t known, nor her other body measurements, but her hair has been blonde since childhood, and her eyes are light blue.