Thora Birch

Thora Birch, born March 11, 1982 was an American actress. Her first film role was in Purple People Eater (1988) in which she was awarded the Young Artist Award for "Best Young Artistress Under Nine Years old". Birch was a child actress who was in films such as All I Want For Christmas (1991) as well as Patriot Games(1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (94), Now and Then (1995), and Alaska (1996). The actress received a Young Artistic Award in the category of "Best Young Actress under Nine Years of Age." In 1999, Birch played Jane Burnham in American Beauty. This film resulted in a BAFTA nomination. In 2001, she received a nomination for Best Actress for Ghost World. In 2003, Birch received an Emmy Award nomination for playing the lead character in Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Birch was also featured in Dungeons & Dragons (2000) and The Hole (2001), Silver City (2004) and Dark Corners (2006). She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2003. Birch was also a part of Whisperer Mary as well as Gamma on Season 10 of The Walking Dead (2019-2020). Birch was Jack Birch's eldest son, was born in Los Angeles. Birch her family's initial surname was Biersch is of German-Jewish, Scandinavian, French-Canadian and Italian origins. "Thora" is her birth name. It is derived from the Norse god Thor who is the god of thunder and lightning. If it were a boy, it would have been her full name. Kian Bolt Birch is her younger brother. Both parents have been actors in adult movies and appeared in Deep Throat. Because of their own experiences working in the entertainment industry it was difficult for them at first to encourage Thora. However, Thora's image was shown to agents when a babysitter saw her imitation commercials. Birch received her first major break at four, when the babysitter took her to a successful audition for an Quaker Oats commercial.