80s child actress who starred with Sarah Jessica Parker before ditching fame makes rare outing

An 80s child star was spotted on a very rare outing in Los Angeles this month, stepping out quietly and far from the glare of the Hollywood spotlight.

The former actress kept a low profile as she ran errands, dressed casually and blending easily into the neighborhood as she walked along the sidewalk.

Once a familiar face on television screens across America, the star rose to fame at a young age during the golden era of teen sitcoms.

At the height of her success, she starred alongside future A-listers and became part of a cult-favorite series that still resonates with fans decades later.

In her breakout role opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress was tasked with wearing fake braces and a fat suit to appear less conventionally attractive on screen. 

Despite early acclaim, her time in the spotlight was brief, and she ultimately chose a life removed from the entertainment industry.

The woman pictured is Amy Linker, who is best known for her role as Lauren Hutchinson on the short-lived but beloved CBS sitcom Square Pegs.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Linker first broke into television as Kelly Lewis on the series Lewis & Clark, before landing her role in Square Pegs, alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Jami Gertz and Tracy Nelson on Square Pegs in 1982.

The show followed two awkward high-school freshmen desperate to fit in, and while it was praised by critics for its sharp writing and realism, it was cancelled after just one season. 

Behind the scenes, Linker later revealed she was required to wear a fat suit and braces to downplay her looks for the role.

While speaking about casting Linker and Parker, screenwriter and comedy writer, Anne Beatts, revealed in an interview that the women needed to be dressed down to play the parts. 

While speaking about Parker, Beatts recalled that they 'had to sort of drab her down.'

'She used to say that she was dressed like an Appalachian child,' Beatts quipped during an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. 'She was a clothes horse even then, I guess.'

As for Linker, Beatts remembered they 'kept trying to find someone who was chubby and she wasn't.'

Ultimately, they ended up casting her and putting 'body padding' in her outfits to be 'fake chubby.' 

'She had to have fake braces and a suit of body padding and Sarah had to have fake glasses and be made less attractive, in order to to portray portray those parts,' she added. 

Following the show’s cancellation, Linker voiced the character Robin on the animated Mister T series and appeared in projects including the sci-fi film D.A.R.Y.L. and the TV movie When We First Met.

She eventually stepped away from acting altogether, enrolling at Wellesley College and graduating in 1989 with a degree in French studies. 

Her post-Hollywood life took a markedly different turn, with careers in internet marketing and elementary education.

In 2012, Linker earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California and now works as a psychotherapist.