Thora Birch

Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actor and producer. Her debut in film was Purple People Eater (1988) and was the recipient of the Young Artist Award for "Best Young Artistress under nine years old". Birch was a child actress who appeared in movies like 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). She received a Young Artistic 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 2001, she was recognized as Best Actress for Ghost World. Birch was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2003 for her role as the title character in Homeless to Harvard:The Liz Murray Story. Her other films include Dungeons & Dragons (2000), The Hole (2001), Silver City (2004), Dark Corners (2006), Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009) and Petunia (2012).After taking time off from acting Birch returned to her acting career in 2016 and since then has appeared in a variety of independent films. Birch has also appeared in the role of Whisperer Mary/ Gamma on the Walking Dead's season 10. Birch was the eldest child born to Jack Birch (and Carol Connors) in Los Angeles. Birch her family's initial surname was Biersch was of German-Jewish, Scandinavian, French-Canadian and Italian ancestry.  The name of her mother, Thora, is derived from the Norse god of lightning and thunder "Thor" which could have been her name, when she was a boy. Kian Bolt Birch Her younger brother, is her mother. Both are former adult film actors, and were both in Deep Throat. Due to their experience in the entertainment industry, they were hesitant to support her, but were persuaded by Thora's picture to agents through a babysitter who observed her imitation of commercials. Birch's first major break came at the age of four, after her babysitter brought her along to auditions for the Quaker Oats commercial.