Thora Birch

Thora Birch (born March 11 1982) is an American producer and actress. In 1988, she made her debut in a film in the film Purple People Eater. For this role, she was awarded an Young Artist Award as "Best Young Actress under nine years of age". Birch was a child-star who appeared in movies such as All I Want For Christmas (1991) The the Patriot Games(1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (94), Now and Then (1995) and Alaska (1996). She received a Young Artist Award in the category of "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years Old." In 1999, Birch played Jane Burnham in American Beauty. This film brought her an BAFTA nomination. In 2001, she was recognized as Best Actress for Ghost World. In 2003, Birch received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance as the title role in Homeless to Harvard The Liz Murray Story. Birch has also been a part of Dungeons & Dragons (2000) (2001), The Hole (2004), Silver City (2004), Dark Corners (2006) and Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009). Birch also played the character of Whisperer Maryand Gamma in The Walking Dead's Season 10. Birch was the oldest child born to Jack Birch (and Carol Connors) in Los Angeles. Birch, whose family's original surname was Biersch was of German-Jewish, Scandinavian, French-Canadian and Italian ancestry. [6] Thora is her name. It's derived from the Norse god Thor, thunder and lightning. If it were a boy, that would be the full name. She has a younger brother, Kian Bolt Birch.Birch's parents were former film actors who participated in the film Deep Throat. Due to their personal experience in the entertainment industry, they were reluctant to encourage her, but were persuaded to show her photo to agents through a babysitter who observed her mimicking commercials. Birch received her first major break at the age of four, when the babysitter accompanied her to an audition for a Quaker Oats commercial.