Christmas classic’s child star, now 44, resurfaces at event 30 years after quitting Hollywood- can you guess who she is?

THE holiday season just wouldn't be the same without watching the iconic festive flick, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

To celebrate the movie, one of the child stars from the famous film has resurfaced just in time for Christmas.

Emma Hamilton Lazen, who is best known for her role in the 1989 movie, looks worlds apart from her iconic childhood role 35 years later.

She played adorable kid Ruby Sue Johnson, the daughter of Eddie and Catherine and part of the extended Griswald family.

Whilst never seen on screen, Ellen's character Ruby Sue had recovered from being cross-eyed as she fell into a well.

As part of the movie's hilarious plot, Ruby Sue had the issue fixed by being kicked by a mule.

Ruby Sue and her family arrived at the Griswald house unannounced which caused Christmas chaos for the family.

Now, well over three decades later, former actress Emma - who previously quit acting - stepped out to meet fans this holiday season.

Die-hard fans of the famous movie queued up to speak the star at a meet and greet in New Jersey.

Still rocking her trademark brown locks, Emma looked happy and relaxed as she met with followers of the film.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was the third instalment of the National Lampoon's Vacation film series.

It was written by John Hughes, who based it on a short story he wrote for National Lampoon magazine in 1980 called Christmas '59.

It stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as the Griswolds, whose screen children Audrey and Rusty are played by Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki.

However, some fans may also recognise child star Ellen from another all-important movie role.

She appeared in the hit 1987 film Fatal Attraction as the daughter of Michael Douglas.

Ellen eventually turned her back on showbiz and shunned the limelight after attending a boarding school in Vermont.

She admitted that after four years of school and no focus on her acting career, she ultimately decided that it was not worth going back.

She told Huffington Post: "It would’ve been a lot of effort to get back into it, and I wasn’t really ready to do that.

"And even though I loved acting and was passionate about it, at that point, I really wanted to be another person, and I decided to walk away."

These days Ellen has turned her focus to her brand new blog.

She revealed that she has set up a blog which chronicles her pregnancy and life as an expectant mum.

Writing on Instagram about the launch of her new venture, she said: "It’s called Road to Momma and I’d love you to join me! Oh, I’m also on TikTok now, so please follow me there too. Love to you all!" 

She closed off the post by including a cheeky hashtag and throwback to her Christmas Vacation days, saying: "#rubysueisknockedup."

The star then announced the birth of her daughter Charlotte Campbell Latzen in April 2023.