Her breakthrough role came in 1999 when she played Jane Burnham in the highly acclaimed film American Beauty, for which she earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She then starred as Enid in the cult hit Ghost World (2001), earning a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actress. In 2003, she received an Emmy Award nomination for playing the title role 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).\n', '

After taking a break from acting, Birch resumed her career in 2016 and has since starred in several independent films.\n', '

Birch was born in Los Angeles, the eldest child of Jack Birch and Carol Connors. Her parents, who have been her business managers throughout her acting career, are former adult film actors; both appeared in the film Deep Throat. Birch is of German-Jewish, Scandinavian, French-Canadian and Italian ancestry. The family\'s original surname was Biersch. Her name, Thora, is derived from the name of the Norse god of thunder and lightning, Thor; she has a younger brother named Bolt. Because of their own experience with the entertainment industry, Birch\'s parents were reluctant to encourage her, but they were persuaded to show her photograph to agents by a babysitter who noticed her imitating commercials.\n', '

Return to Thora Birch Autograph Profile