Thora Birch

Thora Birch
Birch in 2023
Born (1982-03-11) March 11, 1982 (age 42)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
  • director
Years active1988–present
Spouse
Michael Benton Adler
​
​
(m. 2018)​
Parent(s)Jack Birch (father)
Carol Connors (mother)
Signature

Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress, producer, and director. She made her feature film debut in 1988 with a starring role in Purple People Eater, for which she received a Young Artist Award for "Best Actress Under Nine Years of Age". Birch rose to prominence as a child star during the 1990s through a string of parts in films, including Paradise (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (1994), Now and Then (1995), and Alaska (1996). Her breakthrough into adult-oriented roles came with her portrayal of Jane Burnham in American Beauty (1999), for which she was nominated for that year's BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.

Birch received further acclaim—and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress—for starring as Enid Coleslaw in the cult hit Ghost World (2001),[2] and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work in the 2003 television film Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Her other film credits during the 2000s included Dungeons & Dragons (2000), The Hole (2001), Silver City (2004), and Dark Corners (2006). Birch took a break from acting after producing and starring in the 2012 film Petunia;[3] she returned in 2016 and has since appeared in various independent features, such as The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). From 2019–2020, she played the role of Mary (aka "Gamma") on the tenth season of AMC's The Walking Dead.

In 2022, Birch made her directorial debut with the Lifetime television film The Gabby Petito Story.[4] She will make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel Mr. Paradise, making her the first woman to direct a Leonard adaptation.[5]

  1. ^ "Famous birthdays for March 11: Thora Birch, Alex Kingston". UPI. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Burin, Rick (March 17, 2021). "Ghost World at 20: 'In an era of teen comedies and American Pie, this was an antidote'". The Independent. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Marine, Brooke (June 18, 2019). "Where Has Thora Birch Been? Allow Thora Birch to Explain". W. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Petski, Denise (May 5, 2022). "Thora Birch Set to Co-Star & Direct 'The Gabby Petito Story' Movie for Lifetime". Deadline.
  5. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 19, 2023). "Thora Birch To Direct Elmore Leonard Adaptation 'Mr. Paradise' For 'The Guilty' & 'Oslo' Producer Gary Michael Walters – Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023.