When the Harry Potter series cast came together for HBO Max's reunion special, Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts, there were a few notable absences. One of the most noticeable was Julie Walters, who played Molly Weasley throughout the entire film series. As it turns out, her absence in the special is most likely part of her semiretirement from acting.

Walters, already a British acting icon, became the beloved "mom" of a generation as the matriarch of the Weasley family, but that's far from her only claim to fame. She's starred in dozens of movies and TV shows and earned multiple awards (including two Oscar nominations). Her most recent roles include Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Mary Poppins Returns, and The Secret Garden.

In late 2020, however, Walters told The Times that she had retired from acting after receiving a diagnosis of stage three bowel cancer. She has since undergone...