Joan Cusack Says She's 'Never Made Any Money' at Her Gift Shop in Chicago but 'It's Been Such a Funny Journey' (Exclusive)
Joan Cusack Says She's 'Never Made Any Money' at Her Gift Shop in Chicago but 'It's Been Such a Funny Journey' (Exclusive)
Nigel SmithSat, June 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Joan CusackCredit: Austin Hargrave -
Joan Cusack has owned her Chicago gift shop, Judy Maxwell Home, since 2011 as a creative hobby
The shop is named after Barbra Streisand's character in What's Up, Doc? and features vintage-inspired decor
Cusack reprises her role as Jessie in Toy Story 5, her first major film role since 2019's Toy Story 4
Two-time Oscar nominee Joan Cusack has a surprising side hustle many fans might not know about: she owns a charming gift shop.
The actress, who voices cowgirl Jessie in the record-breaking Toy Story 5, has been running her store, Judy Maxwell Home, in Chicago for over a decade. As she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, it's named after her favorite Barbra Streisand character (from What's Up, Doc?).
“It's so fun,” she says. “At first I didn't have price tags on anything, and I was sad when someone bought something because what was I going to do? I have to find another thing! So it's been such a funny journey. I've never made any money, but it's been a great hobby.”
The acclaimed character actress, 63, was born in New York City and raised in Chicago by an ad executive-turned-actor dad and homemaker mom alongside her four siblings, including John Cusack. She has lived in Chicago ever since, raising her two sons, Dylan, 29, and Miles, 26, there with her husband, Richard Burke, an attorney.
"I found this place that's close to my house because I knew if it was far away and it was going to be too hard to do, I'd just never do it," she says of her shop. "We found a retail space that had the old tin ceilings and this kind of really old wood floor. And I just felt like it doesn't matter if I scratch the floor. I felt free."
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Joan Cusack and her character Jessie at the Toy Story 5 world premiereCredit: Kevin Mazur/Getty
Cusack reprises her role as cowgirl Jessie in Toy Story 5, more than 25 years after the character first galloped onto screens in 1999's Toy Story 2. The film marks her first major movie role since 2019's Toy Story 4 — and her appearance at the sequel's recent London launch event was her first red carpet outing in nearly 11 years.
Jessie became an audience favorite, returning in 2010's Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4 and now as the heroine of Toy Story 5, which tackles the challenges of modern parenting as Jessie squares off with a smart tablet named Lilypad for a kid's attention.
“It's a really special movie about girls and about tech and about human connection,” Cusack says.
Toy Story 5 is now in theaters.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
