| Birth Place: | Pacific Palisades, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actress, circus-style performer |
| Yearsactive: | Acting: 1984–1994, 2016, 2019 |
Amy O'Neill is an American actress. She started as a child actress in 1984, appearing in several sitcoms before a 30-episode run as pregnant teen Molly Stark on The Young and the Restless in 1986. She may be best known for her role as high-schooler Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award. She retired from acting in the 1990s, joined a circus-style entertainment troupe, appeared in documentaries about her childhood roles, and returned to acting with two short films and a television episode in the late 2010s.
O'Neill was born in Pacific Palisades, California, the daughter of Virginia, an art school director, and Thomas O'Neill, a Los Angeles construction company owner.[1] She is the third of five children; her two older siblings performed in commercials while children.
O'Neill began auditioning for parts at age ten with her older siblings.[1] After school, the kids would drive out to Hollywood. O'Neill made her first appearance on television at age 13 in an episode of Mama's Family as a younger version of Betty White's character, Ellen Harper. She continued working on television shows such as Matt Houston, Night Court, Highway to Heaven and The Twilight Zone. She also appeared on the American game show, Body Language in the summer of 1985. After an appearance on Family Ties, O'Neill won the role of the pregnant teenager Molly Stark on the daytime soap, The Young and the Restless for thirty episodes in 1986.
She appeared in the 1989 television films, Desperate for Love as Tammy Lauren's best friend, with Christian Slater and as Jodie in I Know My First Name is Steven, before appearing in her most recognized role as Amy Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the film, she and her brother are shrunk to 1/4 inch high by the father's (Rick Moranis) shrink ray.
O'Neill had a role in an episode of , but her scenes were cut due to time constraints, leaving her as a background extra in a crowd scene. She played Lisa Barnes in the unsold pilot Where's Rodney?, with Rodney Dangerfield and her Honey, I Shrunk the Kids co-star Jared Rushton. She continued working in television series such as Room for Romance, The Young Riders, and Gabriel's Fire, and starred as Susan Hartley in an episode of Murder, She Wrote.
She reprised the role of Amy Szalinski in the 1992 film Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, albeit only in the opening scene where she leaves for college. The reason for this is that the film was originally a standalone story unrelated to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and when the plot was changed to include the Szalinski family, there was no parallel character for O'Neill to replace. Amy Szalinski is also mentioned but does not appear in the third film, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
O'Neill later appeared in the television film, as Pandra, one of the young adults stuck in the Cascade Mountains, having to fend for themselves. In 1994, she appeared in the National Lampoon film, Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women as a German Skater.
O'Neill returned to television in 2005 to appear in an MTV documentary with her Honey, I Shrunk the Kids co-star Thomas Wilson Brown in The 100 Greatest Family Films. In 2008, she appeared as an Officer's wife in an independent film, The Japanese Sandman.
, O'Neill was working to produce a film tentatively titled Burn Down the Night, based on the 1982 book of the same name by Craig Strete, about the life of Jim Morrison before he joined The Doors.[2]
, O'Neill was active in the performance art community of Los Angeles as one of the trio Girls on Stilts, a circus-style troupe.[1]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Desperate for Love | Cindy | ||
| I Know My First Name Is Steven | Jodie | |||
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | Amy Szalinski | |||
| The Making of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | Herself | Documentary short film | ||
| 1992 | Honey, I Blew Up the Kid | Amy Szalinski | cameo | |
| 1993 | Pandra | |||
| 1994 | Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women | German Skater | ||
| 2005 | The 100 Greatest Family Films | Herself | Documentary film | |
| 2008 | The Japanese Sandman | Mom & Officer's Wife | Short film | |
| 2019 | The Follower | Mom | Short film | |
| 2024 | The Character Series: Amy Szalinski - Shrinking Good Fun | Herself | Documentary film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mama's Family | Young Ellen Harper | Episode: "Mama's Birthday" | |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Rosie | Episode: "Vanished" | |
| 1985 | Night Court | Jenny Reader | Episode: "Walk, Don't Wheel" | |
| 1985 | Highway to Heaven | Sue | Episode: "The Secret" | |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Blonde Girl | Episode: "The Shadow Man" | |
| 1986 | Family Ties | Brenda | Episode: "The Disciple" | |
| 1986 | The Young and the Restless | Molly Stark | 30 Episodes | |
| 1987 | Second Chance | Jane Pfeiffer | Episode: "Plain Jane" | |
| 1989 | Annette | Episode: "Evolution" (uncredited, scenes cut) | ||
| 1990 | Where's Rodney? | Lisa Barnes | Unsold pilot | |
| 1990 | Room for Romance | Unknown | Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Reality" | |
| 1990 | The Young Riders | Jennifer Tompkins | Episode: "Pride and Prejudice" | |
| 1991 | Gabriel's Fire | Ginny | Episode: "The Great Waldo" | |
| 1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Susan Hartley | Episode: "A Killing in Vegas" | |
| 2016 | Baskets | Arlequin | Episode: "Picnic" | |
| 2020 | Prop Culture | Herself | Episode: "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" |