Thora Birch, a talented actress born on a Thursday, March 11, 1982, in Los Angeles, was named after the Norse God Thor by her parents, Jack Birch and Carol Connors. She has a younger brother named Bolt Birch. Thora's early career began with a commercial appearance in a California raisin advertisement at the age of four in 1986. She then went on to star in the film Purple People Eater in 1988, for which she won a Youth in Film Award.
At the age of six, Thora appeared in the television series Parenthood in 1990, alongside a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Her breakout movie was Paradise in 1991, where she starred alongside Elijah Wood and Melanie Griffith. Thora was selected from a pool of 4,000 young hopefuls to land the role and received excellent reviews for her performance.
Thora's subsequent film appearances included Hocus Pocus in 1993, alongside major stars, and Monkey Trouble in 1994, where her affection for her pet monkey and impressive stunts carried the entire movie. She also appeared in American Beauty in 1999, which won five Oscar awards. In this film, Thora played the role of an alienated daughter whose parents' mid-life crises drive them to affairs and destruction. Her performance was convincing and received good reviews.
In real life, Thora is a down-to-earth young woman who enjoys Italian food and diet root beer.
