Joan Cusack stepped out at the Toy Story 5 premiere in London on Thursday evening, drawing attention to her “return” after 11 years away from red carpets. Her career, though, never fully disappeared—she kept working, raising her children, opening a lifestyle s
On Thursday evening, Joan Cusack walked into the Toy Story 5 premiere and the internet moved fast—settling on the same headline-sized idea. After 11 years away from the red carpet, the beloved actor had come back into public view.
It was a compelling frame, too. Cusack is one of those Hollywood names that people know instinctively. even when they’re trying to place where they’ve seen her before. She’s the daughter of actor Dick Cusack and the sister of John Cusack. but she built her own path through a string of roles that earned major recognition.
Cusack has been nominated for Academy Awards twice—once for Working Girl and once for In and Out. Her filmography includes projects such as Klaus and the Toy Story franchise, both recognized by the industry. And when she first hit mainstream American TV. it was her Saturday Night Live season in the mid-1980s that helped put her in front of wider audiences.
Her breakthrough came a few years after that, when she landed the role of Cyn in Working Girl. She starred alongside Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, and Sigourney Weaver, and audiences quickly learned she didn’t need to be the lead to be indispensable.
Even so, it’s the specifics that make Cusack’s career feel different. From the best friend in Runaway Bride to the love interest in School of Rock. her roles—often supporting—have a way of sticking. That’s part of why her return for Toy Story 5 landed so cleanly as a story: she’s coming back as Jessie. the fierce cowgirl who’s a focal point of the upcoming film.
Cusack’s London appearance wasn’t just a premiere moment. Jessie and Joan Cusack attend the Toy Story 5 UK launch event May 28 in London (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images). And when she spoke about the character, her enthusiasm didn’t sound like a polished comeback line. “It’s Jessie’s story,” she said during an interview on Virgin Radio U.K. on May 28. “It’s glorious.”.
The version of events that looked dramatic online doesn’t quite match the day-to-day reality. Cusack didn’t vanish; she simply stepped back from the photographed rhythm of film events.
What she’s been doing instead helps explain the gap. Rather than swerving red carpets. she was building a life with fewer demands from film and television—raising her two (now adult) children. and working on Shameless in Chicago in 2011. In that period, she opened a lifestyle shop called Judy Maxwell Home in the city.
In a 2019 interview with The New Yorker, Cusack explained why she shifted focus: “My kids were young, and I didn’t really want to take acting work, because I always had to go away.” She added that she was looking for something to do—“because I’m not really a big cooking person.”
Acting wasn’t framed as bitter or regretful. It was simply different. In the same interview, Cusack said acting “isn’t that fun” compared to running her shop. “It’s just not that great of a world, except for being exposed to cool sets and talented, interesting people. But this is so fun.”
Her last red carpet appearance, according to the account here, was at the Showtime 2015 Emmy Eve Party. After that, her work kept moving—just not always in the form that brings cameras.
Toy Story 4 was released in 2019, nine years after the previous installment. Klaus also came out in 2019. Another Netflix film, Let It Snow, arrived the same year. On television, she guest-starred on Season 2 of Homecoming in 2020, and appeared on A Series of Unfortunate Events from 2017 to 2019. IMDB cites seven additional roles for Cusack since 2015.
So when she returns as Jessie now, it reads less like a sudden comeback and more like a familiar piece falling back into place. The offer was simply too enticing to refuse—especially because Jessie is such a central, recognizable part of the upcoming film.
The crowd outside the venue may have treated Thursday night as a reinvention. But the story underneath the headlines is more human than dramatic: Cusack stepped away from the spotlight’s schedule while continuing to work, choosing the kind of life where roles and family could both fit.
Joan Cusack Toy Story 5 Jessie red carpet return Working Girl In and Out Klaus London premiere Judy Maxwell Home Shameless Chicago Virgin Radio U.K.