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THORA BIRCH BIOGRAPHY |
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Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American
actress. Thora was also a former child star, starring in 1990s
hits such as Now and Then, Hocus Pocus and Monkey Trouble. Thora
first started acting in more mature films in the 1999 hit
American Beauty.
Birch was born in Los Angeles, California, the eldest child of
Jack Birch and Carol Connors, both were former adult film actors,
Connors appeared in the seminal pornographic film Deep Throat[1]
her parents now work as her managers. 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.[2] Her given name 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. However, it
wasn't until 1988 that her acting career really began. She was
cast as Molly in the short-lived television series Day By Day,
where 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.
Thora was cast in her first, real break-though role in 1991 when
she played Billie Pike in the movie Paradise which also starred
Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Elijah Wood. She was able to
get this role by beating out over 4,000 young hopefuls who
auditioned for it. Her ability to portray herself as a young
tomboy landed her many parts in movies including Hocus Pocus and
the big-budget films Patriot Games in 1992 and its sequel, Clear
and Present Danger in 1994. In 1995, Thora was cast in the movie
Now and Then which is regarded as Thora's first venture into
teenage roles. In the mid 90s she also made guest-starring
appearances on various television shows such as "The Outer
Limits", "Promised Land" and "Touched By An Angel".
She took break from acting but returned in 1999 with the
made-for-TV movie Night Ride Home. She also was initially casted
for 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. That same
year, she won critical praise by playing Jane Burnham in
American Beauty which eventually won the Academy Award for Best
Picture. Some consider it to be her first adult role; she was
only 16, and thus a minor in the United States, when the movie
was made, therefore her parents had to approve Birch's brief
topless scene in the movie. Her parents and child labor
representatives were on the set for the shooting of the scene.
It was her lead role in Ghost World which won her great critical
praise, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi and Brad
Renfro. That year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for best
actress.
Birch had indicated that she has aspirations of one day becoming
a director. Recently she began directing short video sketches
for the sketch comedy troupe The Doomed Planet and her official
website promotes a url where such a video can be freely
downloaded. |
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