Mia Sara, 57, starred with Tom Cruise then was in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, see her now in rare snaps
The exotic-looking actress made her big-screen debut opposite Tom Cruise in the fantasy unicorn-seeking adventure Legend in 1985.
Then one year later - at the age of 18 - this siren landed a major role in an iconic high school comedy, 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off, starring Matthew Broderick.
The 57-year-old Hollywood stalwart has continued to work but has rarely been seen.
On Monday evening the formerly dark-haired star hit her first red carpet in many years for the premiere of her new movie.
She was at The Life Of Chuck screening at Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles with Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill.
Born Mia Sarapochiello in Brooklyn, New York, she landed her big break aged 16 with the 1985 fantasy film Legend starring her as a princess and Cruise as a man from the woods.
The movie was anchored by Hollywood heavyweights - not just Tom but also director Ridley Scott - and yet turned out to be a flop at the box office.
However, one year later, Mia became recognizable all over the country 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.
Upon its release, Ferris Bueller's Day Off became a thunderous box office success and remains one of the best-loved high school comedies to emerge from Hollywood.
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.
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.
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