Before she became a Hollywood star known for roles in films like Baby Driver and The 3-Body Problem, Eiza González had a very different brush with showbiz and a hilariously chaotic one. The Mexican actress recently revealed that her very first television gig, at just five years old, was on Sesame Street (specifically the Mexican version), and it ended almost as soon as it began because she was… too much.
González shared the story during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where guest host Brooke Shields asked her about her earliest experiences in acting. According to González, she was on Sesame Street “for the blink of an eye,” because she was “a complete menace” on set. She described herself as a hyperactive child who liked to rile up people, and that energy didn’t always translate well to a structured set.
“I got kicked out,” González said with a laugh, calling it her first getting-fired moment in life. The incident occurred when she convinced the other child actors to sneak into the offices on set, where they ended up jumping around and damaging part of a mock-up set piece. She said she was “the one” responsible, and that’s what led to her being let go, with no hard feelings, though she joked that even Big Bird gave her the boot.
González’s mother apparently wasn’t thrilled by the episode, either. She reportedly told her daughter at the time that maybe acting wasn’t the best career for someone who got into that much trouble at age five. But of course, that advice didn’t stick. González did find her way back into the industry, eventually landing roles in Mexican television and then in American film and television, proving that early setbacks don’t have to define a career.
Looking back on the experience, González chuckled that her early fiery personality might have been part of what made her memorable, even if it briefly derailed her first gig. Her story stands out because it’s so unusual: it’s rare for anyone, let alone a five-year-old, to be dismissed from a children’s program for mischief.
Today, González’s career has come full circle; she’s a respected actress with a diverse range of roles under her belt, and she even returned to the Sesame Street universe years later by appearing on Plaza Sésamo in Mexico in a cameo as a singer.
Her fond recollection and tongue-in-cheek acceptance of a very early firing offers a humorous look at how even the biggest stars sometimes get their start with a little chaos and misadventure.
