Joan Cusack Makes Her First Red Carpet Appearance in 11 Years at the "Toy Story 5" Premiere

May 29, 2026 by apost team

Joan Cusack has always done things on her own terms. She earned two Academy Award nominations — for "Working Girl" in 1989 and "In & Out" in 1998 — and built one of the most distinctive supporting careers in Hollywood over four decades. She won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2015 for her work on the Showtime series "Shameless." Then, quietly and without announcement, she stepped back. The red carpets stopped. The interviews stopped. She went home to Chicago.

There, she opened Judy Maxwell Home, a gift shop she founded in 2011 on Chicago's North Side. She has described the experience of running it as "a little lab of my own instincts about being in the world." Asked about the appeal of the shop versus the spotlight, she was characteristically direct. "Being a celebrity actress isn't that fun, over and over," she told E! News. "It's just not that great of a world, except for being exposed to cool sets and talented, interesting people. But this is so fun."

Her last confirmed red carpet appearance was in September 2015 at Showtime's Emmy Eve party in Los Angeles — 11 years before the evening that brought her back. Her most recent acting credit before this year was a guest appearance on the Netflix series "Homecoming" in 2020.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Cusack, born Oct. 11, 1962, stepped onto the red carpet at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London for the U.K. premiere of "Toy Story 5." She was there to reprise the role she has played since 1999 — Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl — alongside Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. It was, by every measure, a rare occasion. And the way she looked arriving made it clear she had not lost a single thing.

Cusack arrived in a white button-down shirt tucked into a floor-length high-waisted black skirt, accessorized with thick black-rimmed glasses, dangle earrings, square-toe shoes, and a dainty gold necklace. Her dark bob, trimmed just below the nape of her neck, came with curtain bangs. She was joined on the carpet by her husband of more than 20 years, Richard Burke.

She posed alongside her "Toy Story 5" castmates — Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Greta Lee, and Tony Hale — as well as the life-sized versions of the characters they voice. A confetti explosion marked the occasion. The internet, which had not seen Cusack on a red carpet since over a decade, responded with immediate and overwhelming warmth. "Great to be back, can't wait to see 'Toy Story 5,'" one fan wrote. 

"Toy Story 5" opens in theaters on June 19, 2026. In the film, Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang face a new challenge: Lilypad, a high-tech frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee, whose arrival at Bonnie's home disrupts everything they thought they knew about their place in the world. Jessie takes on an expanded central role — something director Andrew Stanton had been planning since "Toy Story 4." "She was so ready to be the next leader of the toys in the room," he told MovieWeb. 

For Cusack, the film brought her back to a role she clearly loves — and to a red carpet she had clearly been in no hurry to return to. On her own terms, as always.

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Are you a fan of Joan Cusack and the "Toy Story" franchise? Are you excited to see Jessie take center stage in "Toy Story 5"? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and other "Toy Story" fans out there!