When Ray Kinsella (aka Kevin Costner) built a baseball diamond on an Iowa farm in 1989′s “Field of Dreams,” people did come. But he couldn’t have done it without the support of his wife (played by Amy Madigan) and his young daughter, portrayed by an actress then making her film debut, 7-year-old Gaby Hoffman.

Hoffman may look familiar for reasons that extend beyond “Field of Dreams.” That’s because the girl who spent much of her childhood living in New York’s Chelsea Hotel appeared in several well-known movies during the late ’80s/ ’90s, including “Uncle Buck,” “Sleepless in Seattle” (Remember? She was the kid who abbreviated everything WAY before text messaging), “Now and Then,”  Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You” and “All I Wanna Do.” So whatever happened to Hoffman?

As the new millennium dawned and her teen years came to a close, Hoffman took on fewer roles. After appearing in movies such as “200 Cigarettes” in 1999 and the excellent “You Can Count on Me” in 2001, she decided to focus her energies on school, earning a bachelor’s degree in literature from Bard College in 2003, according to Wikipedia.

During the five years following college, Hoffman got back into acting, but devoted herself mostly to theater work. During that time, she made a single TV appearance, in an episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” But these days, she appears to be throwing herself back into Hollywood.

She recently co-starred with Donald Sutherland and Jacqueline Bisset in “The Eastmans,” a pilot for a CBS medical drama that, unfortunately, was not added to CBS’s 2009 fall schedule. She also appeared in two movies — Todd Solondz’s “Life During Wartime” and “13,” with Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham — that are scheduled for release sometime this year.

These are all signs that the little girl from “Field of Dreams” may be able to transition into adult roles, which is perhaps no surprise for an actress who, according to imdb, once said she found Kevin Costner “bossy.” You tell ‘em, Gaby.

Related Links:

Whatever Happened to the ‘Free Willy’ Kid?

Whatever Happened to Charlie From ‘Willy Wonka’?

Whatever Happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas?

Images: chidstarlets.com, daylife.com

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