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Birch was born in Los Angeles,
California, the eldest child of Jack Birch and Carol Connors. Both her
parents (who have managed her career and remain her managers up to the
present day) were former adult film actors and both appeared in the
pornographic film, Deep Throat. Birch is of Jewish, Nordic, and Italian
descent. The family's original surname was "Biersch", coming from her
German Jewish ancestors. The name 'Thora' is a feminized form of the name
Thor, the God of the Sky and of Thunder in Norse mythology. Birch lives in
Southern California. She is a vegetarian and holds a blue belt in karate.
From an early age, Birch was encouraged by her parents to audition for
commercials. She landed several parts representing companies such as
Quaker Oats and Vlasic Pickles. In 1988, she broke into acting when
landing the role of Molly in the short-lived television series Day By Day
in which she was billed simply as "Thora." That same year she played an
important role in the movie Purple People Eater opposite Ned Beatty and
Neil Patrick Harris for which she won a Youth In Film Award for her
performance.
Birch's breakthrough role came in 1991 when she was cast as 'tomboy'
Billie Pike in the movie Paradise which also starred Don Johnson, Melanie
Griffith and Elijah Wood. To obtain the role, she had to compete with more
than 4,000 other young hopefuls who auditioned for it. Birch received
enormous praise for her performance and her career thereafter went from
strength to strength. Birch's ability to portray herself as a young tomboy
landed her several parts during the period 1991-1995, including the role
of Dani in Hocus Pocus (1993). Her acting ability moreover continued to
attract much praise and she won leading roles in such films as All I Want
for Christmas (1991) and Monkey Trouble (1994). She also appeared in two
big-budget blockbuster Harrison Ford films, Patriot Games (1992) and its
sequel, Clear and Present Danger (1994).
Birch's performed in the 1995 film Now and Then. It also starred Gaby
Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore and Melanie Griffith. Directed by
Lesli Linka Glatter, the film is about four friends who have been so
preoccupied with their own lives that they have not seen one another for
some time until the impending birth of one of their babies reunites them.
Upon reuniting, they reminisce about events during the summer of 1970 when
they were 12 which were ultimately influential in shaping their lives. It
was during that summer, a mixture of both happy and sad events, that they
realized that adulthood was fast approaching, that they began to work out
what life was about and what they wished to do with their own lives. They
also promised to be there for another, hence the reason why they were
reuniting for the birth of the baby. Birch won critical acclaim for her
performance.
By 1996, Thora was one of leading child actresses of her generation. She
consolidated her position with a leading role in the adventure film,
Alaska (1996) in which she plays the role of Jessie Barnes who has moved
to Alaska with her father (played by Dirk Benedict) and brother after the
death of her mother. Her father is a former airline pilot and upon moving
to Alaska, he starts earning a living by delivering supplies to small
towns in the Alaskan wilderness in his light aircraft. Whilst making a
delivery, his plane crashes into a mountainside. Concluding that not
enough was being done to locate him, Jessie and her brother set out on a
successful attempt to find him with the help of a baby polar bear.
After guest-starring appearances in the The Outer Limits, Promised Land
and Touched By An Angel, Thora took a break from acting for a couple of
years. In 1999, she returned in the made-for-TV movie Night Ride Home and
also took a small uncredited role in the Natalie Portman film Anywhere But
Here. She also was initially cast in the role of Tammy Metzler in the
dark-comedy Election, but ended up leaving after only the third day of
filming after disagreements with director/writer Alexander Payne. Jessica
Campbell was then given the role of Metzler.
Later in 1999, Birch won enormous critical praise playing the role of Jane
Burnham in American Beauty and was nominated for a British Academy of Film
and Television Arts award. The movie itself went on to win the Academy
Award for Best Picture. As Birch was barely 17 at the time she made the
film, and thus classified as a minor in the United States, her parents had
to approve her brief topless scene in the movie and they and child labor
representatives were on the set for the shooting of it.
After leading roles in The Smokers (2000) and Dungeons & Dragons (2000),
Birch landed the leading role in Ghost World (2001) alongside Scarlett
Johansson, Steve Buscemi and Brad Renfro and was nominated for a Golden
Globe for best actress for her performance. The film concerns best friends
Enid (played by Birch) and Rebecca who graduate from high school and find
themselves forced to enter the 'real world'.
Birch's most notable roles since 2001 have been that of Liz Murray in
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), which earned her an Emmy
nomination, and April in Slingshot (2005). Her most recent film (which
premiered on the 10th November 2006) was Dark Corners in which she appears
in the lead role as a woman who wakes up one day as a different person and
ends up being stalked by gruesome creatures. Birch has lead roles in two
movies, Shamrock Boy and Tainted Love, which are scheduled for release in
2007. Pre-production has also begun on two further films, Frail and Winter
of Frozen Dreams.
Birch has indicated that she has aspirations to become a director and has
recently begun directing short video sketches for a sketch comedy troupe
called The Doomed Planet. The sketches can be seen on her official
website.
Thora will star in the 2008 film Train alongside her brother Bolt Birch.
It tells about a trip to Europe of a group of American college athletes
unknowingly board a train that will become one deadly ride. Thora has also
been negotiating to have a part in Frail (2009) drama film. She reportedly
plays Chloe, a mysterious young, naive girl from the midwest. Her
character and a cynical, aging private-eye struggle to come to terms with
their dark pasts. |
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Cavegirl (2008) .... Cavegirl
Crossmaglen (2008) .... Nulla McGarvey
Train (2008) .... Alana Maxwell
Winter of Frozen Dreams (2008) .... Barbara Hoffman
Dark Corners (2006) .... Karen Clarke/Susan Hamilton
Tainted Love (2006) .... Mia
Slingshot (2005) .... April
The Dot (2004) (voice) .... Narrator
Silver City (2004) .... Karen Cross
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003) (TV) .... Liz
Murray
"Night Visions" .... Susan Thornhill (1 episode, 2002)
- The Maze (2002) TV episode .... Susan Thornhill
Shadow Realm (2002) (TV) .... Susan Thornhill
Ghost World (2001) .... Enid
The Hole (2001) .... Liz Dunn
... aka After the Hole (USA)
Dungeons & Dragons (2000) .... Empress Savina
... aka Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie (UK: promotional title)
The Smokers (2000) .... Lincoln Roth
Anywhere But Here (1999) (uncredited) .... Mary
American Beauty (1999) .... Jane Burnham
Night Ride Home (1999) (TV) .... Clea Mahler
"Touched by an Angel" .... Erin (1 episode, 1997)
- The Pact (1997) TV episode .... Erin
"Promised Land" .... Allison Rhodes (1 episode, 1997)
... aka Home of the Brave
- Running Scared (1997) TV episode .... Allison Rhodes
Alaska (1996) .... Jessie Barnes
Now and Then (1995) .... Teeny
"The Outer Limits" .... Aggie Travers (1 episode, 1995)
... aka The New Outer Limits (USA: promotional title)
- The Choice (1995) TV episode .... Aggie Travers
Blackbird Hall (1995) (TV)
Clear and Present Danger (1994) .... Sally Ryan
Monkey Trouble (1994) .... Eva
... aka Pet
"Monty" .... Ann Sherman (1 episode, 1994)
- Here Comes the Son (1994) TV episode .... Ann Sherman
Hocus Pocus (1993) .... Dani
Patriot Games (1992) .... Sally Ryan
The Itsy Bitsy Spider (1992) (voice) .... Additional Voices
All I Want for Christmas (1991) .... Hallie O'Fallon
Paradise (1991) .... Billie Pike
"Amen" .... Brittany (1 episode, 1991)
- Nothing Says Lovin'... (1991) TV episode (as Thora) .... Brittany
"Married People" .... Emily (1 episode, 1990)
- To Live and Drive in LA (1990) TV episode (as Thora) .... Emily
Dark Avenger (1990) (TV) (as Thora) .... Susie Donovan
"Parenthood" (1990) TV series .... Taylor Buckman (unknown episodes)
"Doogie Howser, M.D." .... Megan (1 episode, 1989)
- Vinnie Video Vici (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Megan
"Day by Day" .... Molly (19 episodes, 1988-1989)
- Father Knows Best (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Molly
- The Lost Weekend (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Molly
- The Reunion (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Molly
- Foul Play (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Molly
- Three Men and a Babe (1989) TV episode (as Thora) .... Molly
(14 more)
Purple People Eater (1988) (as Thora) .... Molly Johnson |
