Thora Birch

Thora Birch, born March 11 1982 is an American actress. Her film debut was in Purple People Eater (1988) in which she was awarded a Young Artist Award for "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years Old". Birch became famous as a child star by appearing in films such as All I Want for Christmas (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (1994), Now and Then (1995), and Alaska (1996).Her breakthrough role came in 1999, when she portrayed Jane Burnham in the highly acclaimed film American Beauty, for which she was awarded an BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 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 main character in Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Birch also appeared on Dungeons & Dragons (2000) (2001), The Hole (2004), Silver City (2004), Dark Corners (2006) and Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009). Birch played the role of Whisperer Mary/Gamma during the season 10 episode of The Walking Dead (2019-202). Birch was the eldest child born to Jack Birch (and Carol Connors) in Los Angeles. Birch is German-Jewishand has Scandinavian and French-Canadian descent. [6] Her name, Thora originates from the Norse god of thunder and lightning "Thor" that would be her name should she had been a young boy. Kian Bolt Birch is her younger brother. Both of her parents were former actors in adult films , and also appeared in Deep Throat. Due to their personal experience with the entertainment industry, they were hesitant to support the actress, but were convinced by Thora's picture to agents through a babysitter who observed her imitating commercials. Birch was given her first major break at four when her babysitter took her to an audition for a Quaker Oats commercial.