For decades, the Cusack name was synonymous with modern alternative Hollywood royalty. Siblings Joan and John Cusack uniquely carved out parallel tracks as the industry’s favorite quirky icons, frequently collaborating on cult classics like Say Anything…, Grosse Pointe Blank, and High Fidelity.
However, as the summer of 2026 unfolds, the divergent trajectories of the famous brother and sister have captured public attention. While Joan Cusack, 63, makes a grand, high-profile return to the Hollywood spotlight, her younger brother John, 60, remains fundamentally estranged from the studio system.
As the children of respected actor and filmmaker Dick Cusack, it seemed fitting that the Cusack siblings would pursue careers in the industry.
Yet while Ann, Joan, Bill, John and Susie all landed roles in the 1980s and 1990s, in recent years their levels of success have varied.
This month saw Joan return to the limelight to promote her new film Toy Story 5 – with the 63-year-old actress making her first red carpet appearances in more than a decade.
The two-time Oscar nominee reprises her voice role as cowgirl Jessie in the movie, marking a rare return to Hollywood after ditching the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles to live life as a ‘normal person’ in Chicago.
Yet while Joan has been dipping her toe back into showbusiness, her siblings have not followed her path, despite all starting out together.
The quintet first developed their love of performing through starring in theatre productions in their hometown of Chicago, before going on to work together on numerous projects.
The Cusacks in 1999, from left: father Dick, Susie, Joan, Bill, Anne, mother Nancy, and John
This month saw Joan Cusack return to the limelight to promote her new film Toy Story 5 – with the actress making her first red carpet appearances in more than a decade
Joan once told The Guardian: ‘I was very shy, but my sister Ann was involved in the theatre and I tagged along – that’s how I got interested in drama.’
It also proved to be the springboard of her career as it helped her and her younger brother, John, be in ‘the right place at the right time’ to meet director John Hughes, who made movies such as Sixteen Candles, in which they both starred, aged 21 and 18.
The family ended up performing together in a number of films, with Joan’s debut role in 1980’s My Bodyguard seeing her work along her father. Three years later, John made his first movie, Class, in which Joan also had a role.
Anne’s break-through role came in 1992, aged 31, when she starred in A League Of Their Own, while that same year, 21-year-old Susie made her debut, starring in Hero with Joan.
Bill was 33 when he joined John, Joan and Ann in the 1997 hit movie Grosse Pointe Blank. That same year, he also appeared in the Nicolas Cage film Con Air, which also starred John as a special agent.
John previously spoke about his many collaborations with his family, saying: ‘I can’t believe they still let us to do it.’
On Joan, with whom he’s starred in ten movies, he added: ‘I always love working with her!’
In celebration of the family’s work together, the Cusack clan were all honoured with the Chicago Film Critics Association Commitment to Chicago Award in 2000 for their contribution to the Chicago film and theater community.
John and Susie at the 1992 premiere of Hero, with their co-star Dustin Hoffman and his wife, Lisa (centre)
Joan and John, pictured together in 1992, starred in ten movies together – Class, Sixteen Candles, Grandview, U.S.A., Broadcast News, Grosse Pointe Blank, Cradle Will Rock, High Fidelity, Martian Child and War, Inc
Ann continues to act, recently landing parts in Better Call Saul and The Boys, but spends most of her time singing with Ann Cusack & The Generation Jones Band, an R&B and classic blues group
All the siblings have worked in Hollywood, but it was John and Joan who went on to become household names.
Susie withdrew entirely from the public eye, while Bill stopped performing to write promotions for a cable network.
Ann continues to act, recently landing parts in Netflix’s Better Call Saul and Prime Video superhero series The Boys, but spends most of her time singing with Ann Cusack & the Generation Jones Band, an R&B and classic blues group.
Joan went on to achieve two Oscar nominations, for 1988’s Working Girl, playing Melanie Griffith’s Staten Island best friend, and for the 1997 comedy In & Out.
She also played a villain in the 1993 film Addams Family Values and uptight principal in 2003’s School Of Rock, as well as a Chicago housewife in the hit comedy TV series Shameless, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award.
Yet in the 2010s, Joan began to retreat from the public eye, relocating to her hometown with husband Richard Burke, who she married in 1996, and their sons Dylan, now 28, and Miles, 25.
While she didn’t give up acting completely, she became far more selective with her roles, and she also opened a gift shop, Judy Maxwell Home, named after Barbra Streisand’s character in her favorite movie, What’s Up Doc?.
Speaking at the Toy Story 5 premiere earlier this month, she said: ‘I feel so honored to have worked in this industry for a long time.
‘But it’s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person. It’s kind of priceless, so there’s that.’
In the 2010s, Joan began to retreat from the public eye, relocating to Chicago with her husband Richard Burke and their sons Dylan, 28, and Miles, 25 (pictured in 2013)
While Joan made an active decision to step back from the industry, her younger brother John faded from the spotlight, despite previously being one of the most sought-after leading men in Hollywood.
Known for his work on several coming-of-age dramas in the 1980s such as Sixteen Candles and Stand By Me, he failed to replicate his success later in life.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, he explained that it wasn’t a case of not wanting to make movies, but more that Hollywood was giving him the cold shoulder.
He mused: ‘In the last few years, I haven’t been able to get projects financed. That could be a function of getting older. Or it could be a function of being cold…
‘I haven’t really been hot for a long time.’
These days, John is known more for his outspoken political views, notably rallying against President Trump and defending Palestine.
His last American film role came in 2022 with the action thriller Pursuit, in which he played a crime boss, and he has starred in two Chinese films, Dragon Blade with Jackie Chan in 2010, and spy-thriller Decoded in 2024, which was a box office hit in China.
John is also on online marketplace Cameo, where fans pay celebrities, athletes and influencers to record short, personalised video messages – he charges $150 (£115) per recording.
