Thora Birch

Thora Birch (born March 11 1982) is an American actor and producer. Her film debut 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-star who appeared in films such as All I Want For Christmas (1991), Patriot Games(1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (94), Now and Then (1995) as well as Alaska (1996). The actress received a Young Artist Award for "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 the following year, she played in Ghost World (2001) as Enid. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. In 2003, Birch received an Emmy Award nomination for her role in the lead role 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 has also appeared in the role of Whisperer Maryand Gamma in the Walking Dead's Season 10. Birch was the eldest of children born to Jack Birch (and Carol Connors) in Los Angeles. Birch was born into a family that originally included the surname Biersch is German-Jewish as well as Scandinavian. She also is French-Canadian French-Canadian and Italian roots. "Thora" is her name. It derives from the Norse god Thor, thunder and lightning. If she were a child, she would have had the full name. Kian Bolt Birch, her younger brother, is also her mother. Both are former adult film actors and were both part of Deep Throat. Based on their own experiences working in the entertainment industry they were reluctant to encourage the actress, but were convinced to show Thora's photo to agents through a babysitter who observed her imitating commercials. Birch was four when she got her first big break when the babysitter took her to audition for an Quaker Oats advertisement.