Biography of Thora Birch

Thora Birch is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in Purple People Eater , for which she won a Young Artist Award for "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age", and rose to prominence as a child star with appearances in films such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Monkey Trouble , Now and Then , and Alaska . Her breakthrough role came in 1999 when she played Jane Burnham in the highly acclaimed film American Beauty, for which she earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She then starred as Enid in the cult hit Ghost World , earning a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actress. In 2003, she received an Emmy Award nomination for playing the title role in Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Her other films include Dungeons & Dragons , The Hole , Silver City , Dark Corners , Winter of Frozen Dreams , and Petunia . After taking a break from acting, Birch resumed her career in 2016 and has since starred in several independent films. Birch also played Whisperer Mary / Gamma on season 10 of The Walking Dead . In 1990, Birch had one of the lead roles in the sitcom Parenthood, based on the 1989 film of the same name. It aired on NBC and was cancelled after one season. In the next year, she starred in the drama Paradise, with Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Elijah Wood. She won her role over more than 4,000 other young hopefuls who auditioned for it. Roger Ebert felt she played her part with "strong, simple charm" and later earned another Young Artist Award nomination. For the rest of the 1990s, Birch continued to find steady recognition as a child and teen actress through leading parts in numerous comedy and family feature films. In 1991, she starred with Ethan Embry in the comedy All I Want for Christmas, as a girl who plans to get her divorced parents back together for Christmas. The film received mediocre reviews and moderate attention from audiences upon its theatrical release, but developed a following on television and on home video in subsequent years. In 1992, she played the daughter of Jack Ryan in the spy thriller Patriot Games, which was a commercial success, grossing US$178 million at the worldwide box office. At 10 years old, Birch appeared in the fantasy comedy Hocus Pocus , opposite Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker. The film saw her play the younger sister of a teenage boy who inadvertently resurrects a villainous trio of witches. Hocus Pocus rated average with reviewers and made a modest US$39 million in the US, but became a cult film due to strong DVD sales and large television following. In the 1994 comedy Monkey Trouble, Birch portrayed a girl who adopts a Capuchin monkey trained to pick pockets and burglarize houses. The movie had a mixed reception, but Marjorie Baumgarten, for the Austin Chronicle, observed that her "nuanced performance no doubt lends Monkey Trouble its realistic touch". Also in 1994, she reprised her Patriot Games role in the sequel, Clear and Present Danger, which grossed over US$215 million globally. In 1995, Birch was cast as the younger version of Melanie Griffith's character in the coming-of-age film Now and Then, also starring Gaby Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. It was released to largely mediocre reviews, but proved to be a profit. She landed a leading role in the adventure drama Alaska opposite Vincent Kartheiser, portraying two siblings who search through the Alaskan wilderness for their lost father . For the next two years, she did not appear in a film but guest-starred in Promised Land and Touched by an Angel. She subsequently filmed the made-for-television film Night Ride Home and an uncredited role for Anywhere but Here, both released in 1999. Also in 1999, she appeared in the Sam Mendes-directed drama American Beauty, as Jane Burnham, the insecure daughter of Kevin Spacey's character. Rolling Stone felt Birch " with grown-up radiance" in her role, for which she later received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film was the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture and grossed over US$356 million worldwide, emerging as the biggest commercial success of Birch's career to date.