Eiza Gonzalez Explains Why She Got Fired From ‘Sesame Street’ at Age 5: ‘I Was a Complete Menace’

Long before Eiza González became a household name in Hollywood, she was a child actor on Mexico’s version of Sesame Street.

“I was on Sesame Street for a blink of an eye because I got kicked out,” González, 35, said on the Tuesday, March 11, episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “It was my first ‘getting fired’ moment.”

While speaking with guest host Brooke Shields, González revealed the probable reason that she was dismissed from Plaza Sésamo.

“I was a hyperactive child and I also liked to rile up people. Like, I was a complete menace,” González quipped. “I made sure to rile up the entire kid team of children. I convinced them to break into the office and they had a mock-up of the entire set, and we were jumping on it and we broke it.”

She continued, “It was me and I got completely fired from my first job because I was a complete menace. My mom said, ‘You can’t do this for a living. You are just so naughty.’”

As González grew up, she “somehow” found her way back to acting.

“I wiggled my way in,” she joked.

Later on in her career, González’s looks would often impact her chances at booking roles.

“I remember being [told for] so many projects, ‘She’s too pretty for the role. She’s too hot for the role,’” she told InStyle in March 2024. “Then I’d just be like, ‘What is Margot Robbie? She’s the hottest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life!’ … I was like, ‘Do I shave my head? Do I make myself less attractive? Do I make myself more attractive? Do I not dress super-hot or do I dress super-hot or do I cover myself all the time?’”

González further noted that she faced “a lot of” similar struggles growing up.

“I went through a lot of trouble with my body, with my curves, with my look,” González admitted at the time. “It was really tough.”

González has since been able to overcome the naysayers, recently landing the role of astronaut Ria in the upcoming horror movie Ash.

“It’s a psychological thriller [and] it’s a really fun movie,” she said on Tuesday. “I’m in it with Aaron Paul, who’s incredible and so talented in this movie. I’m so honored to be sharing this movie with him. It’s an independent film, guys. It means a lot if people can go support it. It’s a little movie that we did in a back lot in a warehouse in New Zealand from no money with a lot of love and a lot of passion.”