The Oscar-nominated actor, 63, returns to voice Jessie in Toy Story 5<\/a> \u2014 her first major film role since the franchise\u2019s 2019 fourth installment \u2014 and recently celebrated at the film\u2019s U.K. and Los Angeles premieres<\/a> with her family.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my life, I haven’t really done that many of those things,\u201d Cusack said of red carpets in the latest issue of People<\/a>. \u201cI think I turned the corner with my husband and was like, \u2018Whoa. What’s going on here?\u2019 And then those guns popped the confetti out and I was like, \u2018Whoa. What’s happening?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I’ve been in Chicago raising my kids, which there’s nothing more important to me than that,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd it’s been kind of crazy to be part of it, a red carpet thing. It’s just not what I do. <\/p>\n \u201cI don’t even dress up that much.\u201d<\/p>\n Cusack transitioned from a breakout cast member on Saturday Night Live <\/a>to an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated fixture of 1980s cinema \u2014 earning nods in the Best Supporting Actress category for comedies In & Out and Working Girl \u2014and starred in several notable films in the 1990s and 2000s, including Addams Family Values and School of Rock.<\/p>\n Since 1999\u2019s Toy Story 2, Cusack has voiced Jessie \u2014 opposite Tom Hanks\u2019s Woody<\/a> \u2014 in the franchise, but has largely distanced herself from acting in the years since.<\/p>\n In the weeks following her red carpet appearances at the Toy Story 5 premieres<\/a>, Cusack has opened up about choosing to live her life out of the spotlight and why such events are a rarity for her.<\/p>\n \u201cI think because I\u2019ve worked for a long time and I\u2019m so honored to be able to work in this industry for a long time, but it\u2019s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person,\u201d she told Variety<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n The interviewer told Cusack that people get \u201cso excited\u201d when seeing her on the red carpet, to which she responded: \u201cAw. Well, it’s kinda cool ’cause there’s not that many movies that do huge red carpets unless you’re doing like an action, superhero [film], so it’s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite her successful career, Cusack hasn\u2019t ever strayed from her Chicago roots.<\/p>\n \u201cI never lived anywhere else,\u201d she told People. \u201cI think a couple times I tried to go out to LA and I’d be in a coffee shop and the waitress would be like, \u2018Oh my God, I just got a part doing blah-blah-blah.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone’s so beautiful. It’s too sunny. I don’t even like the sun, so I couldn’t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2280793435.jpeg\")
Joan Cusack lends her voice to the Toy Story franchise as Jessie (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2280808095...jpeg\")
Joan Cusack and her family attended the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Toy Story 5’ (Getty)<\/p>\n