Then and now: Gaby Hoffmann

Former child star Gaby Hoffmann is ubiquitous these days if you like quirky television and independent film. After staring with Michael Cera in 2013’s Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, she started popping up on shows Louie, Girls and movies Veronica Mars and Obvious Child. She even landed a big role in the splendid new Amazon series Transparent.

32-year-old Gaby, who won our hearts in huge 80-90s hits like Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck, Sleepless in Seattle and Now and Then, is now expecting her first child with cinematographer boyfriend Chris Dapkins. She just got done shooting Transparent, and immediately went to work filming the next season of Girls, where, coincidentally, her character happens to be pregnant.

Gaby broke into the biz went she was just five years old, and her acting success helped her artist mom pay for rent at the rock-n-roll haven The Chelsea Hotel. Her mom Viva had been one of Andy Warhol’s muses at his legendary Factory, had a role in his film The Lovers of Ondine, which launched her own acting career. Gaby’s estranged dad was soap star Anthony Herrera, known for playing villains on As The World Turns.

When Gaby got into her late teens, she decided to take a break from acting, a break that lasted more than a decade. After years in complete obscurity she’s, thankfully, back with a force. Gaby gives a fresh, effortless authenticity to every role she takes on. After years away from acting, she now has a deep appreciation for the opportunities she gets. “I took it all for granted when I was a kid,” she told The Standard earlier this year. “Now, I just feel so lucky and privileged, and can’t believe I get to do this thing that I love and get paid for it.”