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Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an
American actress. She was one of the leading child
actors of the 1990's, starring in movies such as Hocus
Pocus (1993), Now and Then (1995), and Alaska (1996).
Since the 1990's she has moved on to more mature roles,
with notable performances in films such as American
Beauty (1999), and the acclaimed cult film Ghost World
(2001).
Early life and career: Birch was born in Los
Angeles, California, the eldest child of Jack Birch and
Carol Connors. Both her parents (who have managed her
career and remain her managers right up to the present
day) were former adult film actors and her mother
appeared in the pornographic film, Deep Throat. Birch,
who has a brother named Bolt Birch, is of Jewish,
Nordic, and Italian descent. The family's original
surname was "Biersch", coming from her German
Jewish ancestors.
The name 'Thora' is a feminized form of
the name Thor, the God of the Sky and of Thunder in
Norse mythology. From an early age, Birch was encouraged
by her parents to audition for commercials. She landed
several parts representing companies such as Quaker Oats
and Vlasic Pickles. In 1988, she broke into acting when
landing the role of Molly in the short-lived television
series Day By Day in which she was billed simply as
"Thora." That same year she played an
important role in the movie Purple People Eater opposite
Ned Beatty and Neil Patrick Harris for which she won a
Youth In Film Award for her performance.
Paradise: Birch's breakthrough role came in 1991
when she was cast as 'tomboy' Billie Pike in the movie
Paradise which also starred Don Johnson, Melanie
Griffith and Elijah Wood. To obtain the role, she had to
compete with more than 4,000 other young hopefuls who
auditioned for it. Birch received enormous praise for
her performance and her career thereafter went from
strength to strength.
1991-1995: Thora's ability to portray herself as
a young tomboy landed her several parts during the
period 1991-1995, including the role of Dani in Hocus
Pocus (1993). Her acting ability moreover continued to
attract much praise and she won leading roles in such
films as All I Want For Christmas (1991) and Monkey
Trouble (1994). She also appeared in two big-budget
blockbuster Harrison Ford films, Patriot Games (1992)
and its sequel, Clear and Present Danger (1994).
Now & Then: Birch's performance in the 1995
film Now and Then is generally regarded as one of her
best performances to date. It also starred Gaby
Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore and Melanie
Griffith. Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, the film is
about four friends who have been so preoccupied with
their own lives that they have not seen one another for
some time until the impending birth of one of their
babies reunites them. Upon reuniting, they reminisce
about events during the summer of 1970 when they were 12
which were ultimately influential in shaping their
lives. It was during that summer, a mixture of both
happy and sad events, that they realized that adulthood
was fast approaching, that they began to work out what
life was about and what they wished to do with their own
lives. They also promised to be there for another, hence
the reason why they were reuniting for the birth of the
baby. The film, a female take on the film Stand By Me,
was an enormous success and Birch won great critical
acclaim for her performance.
Alaska: By 1996, Thora was one of leading child
actresses of her generation. She consolidated her
position with a leading role in the adventure film,
Alaska (1996) in which she plays the role of Jessie
Barnes who has moved to Alaska with her father (played
by Dirk Benedict) and brother after the death of her
mother. Her father is a former airline pilot and upon
moving to Alaska, he starts earning a living by
delivering supplies to small towns in the Alaskan
wilderness in his light aircraft. Whilst making a
delivery, his plane crashes into a mountainside.
Concluding that not enough was being done to locate him,
Jessie and her brother set out on a successful attempt
to find him with the help of a baby polar bear.
1996-1999: break from acting: After
guest-starring appearances in the The Outer Limits,
Promised Land and Touched By An Angel, Thora took a
break from acting for a couple of years. In 1999, she
returned in the made-for-TV movie Night Ride Home and
also took a small uncredited role in the Natalie Portman
film Anywhere But Here. She also was initially cast in
the role of Tammy Metzler in the dark-comedy Election,
but ended up leaving after only the third day of filming
after disagreements with director/writer Alexander
Payne. Jessica Campbell was then given the role of
Metzler.
American Beauty: Later in 1999, Birch won
enormous critical praise playing the role of Jane
Burnham in American Beauty and was nominated for a
British Academy of Film and Television Arts award. The
movie itself went on to win the Oscar (i.e. Academy
Award) for Best Picture. As Birch was barely 17 at the
time she made the film, and thus classified as a minor
in the United States, her parents had to approve her
brief topless scene in the movie and they and child
labor representatives were on the set for the shooting
of it.
Ghost World: After leading roles in The Smokers
(2000) and Dungeons & Dragons (2000), Birch landed
the leading role in Ghost World alongside Scarlett
Johansson, Steve Buscemi and Brad Renfro and was
nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress for her
performance. The film concerns best friends Enid (played
by Birch) and Rebecca who graduate from high school and
find themselves forced to enter the 'real world'.
2001 to 2006: Birch's most notable roles since
2001 have been that of Liz Murray in Homeless to
Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), which earned her
an Emmy nomination, and April in Slingshot (2005). Her
most recent film (which premiered on the 10th November
2006) was Dark Corners in which she appears in the lead
role as a woman who wakes up one day as a different
person and ends up being stalked by gruesome creatures.
Current Projects: Thora has lead roles in two
movies, Shamrock Boy and Tainted Love, which are
scheduled for release in 2007. Pre-production has also
begun on two further films, Frail and Winter of Frozen
Dreams.
Future Ambition: Birch has indicated that she has
aspirations to become a director and has recently begun
directing short video sketches for a sketch comedy
troupe called The Doomed Planet. The sketches can be
seen on her official website |
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