Why Joan Cusack Returned to the Spotlight a Decade After Stepping Away to Raise Her Sons in Chicago (Exclusive)

Nigel SmithThu, June 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Joan CusackCredit: Austin Hargrave -

Joan Cusack reprises her role as Jessie in Toy Story 5, her first major film since 2019

The actress made her first red carpet appearances in nearly 11 years at the film's London and L.A. premieres

Cusack credits her time away from Hollywood to raising her two sons and staying rooted in Chicago

Joan Cusack is back in the spotlight in a big way.

The beloved actress and two-time Oscar nominee, 63, reprises her role as cowgirl Jessie in Toy Story 5, more than 25 years after the character first galloped onto screens in 1999's Toy Story 2. The film marks her first major movie role since 2019's Toy Story 4 — and her appearance at the sequel's recent London launch event was her first red carpet outing in nearly 11 years.

"In my life, I haven't really done that many of those things," Cusack tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "I think I turned the corner with my husband and was like, 'Whoa. What's going on here?' And then those guns popped the confetti out and I was like, 'Whoa. What's happening?' "

"But I've been in Chicago raising my kids, which there's nothing more important to me than that," she continues. "And it's been kind of crazy to be part of it, a red carpet thing. It's just not what I do. I don't even dress up that much."

Joan Cusack at the London launch event for 'Toy Story 5'Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage

The acclaimed character actress was born in New York City and raised in Chicago by an ad executive-turned-actor father and homemaker mom alongside her four siblings, including John Cusack.

A teenager when she got her first role, in 1980's My Bodyguard ("I couldn't believe I was in a movie!"), she appeared alongside John in 1984's Sixteen Candles and stole scenes in 1987's Broadcast News.

She'd go on to score her first Oscar nomination for 1988's Working Girl ("Can I get you anything, Mr. Trainer? Coffee, tea, me?" her big-haired secretary Cyn asked Harrison Ford), followed by hit movies like 1993's Addams Family Values and 1997's In & Out, which earned her a second Oscar nod.

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But despite her Hollywood success, she kept her focus on her family — and her roots in Chicago — as she raised her two sons, Dylan, 29, and Miles, 26, with her husband, Richard Burke, an attorney.

"I never lived anywhere else," she says. "I think a couple times I tried to go out to L.A., and I'd be in a coffee shop and the waitress would be like, 'Oh my God, I just got a part doing blah-blah-blah.' " She laughs. "Everyone's so beautiful. It's too sunny. I don't even like the sun, so I couldn't do it."

Joan Cusack with Jessie at the Toy Story 5 world premiereCredit: Kevin Mazur/Getty

For years Cusack carefully balanced her career with her family life, often limiting the amount of time she spent away from home while shooting shows like Shameless.

"When [the boys] were younger, there was always that [struggle of] . . . 'I should be home.' And then I'd be home and I'd be like, 'I should be at work,' " she says.

She also brings her quirky sense of humor to Judy Maxwell Home, a gift shop she owns in Chicago named for her favorite Barbra Streisand character (from What's Up, Doc?).

"It's so fun," she says. "At first I didn't have price tags on anything, and I was sad when someone bought something because what was I going to do? I have to find another thing! So it's been such a funny journey. I've never made any money, but it's been a great hobby."

Toy Story 5 is now in theaters.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”