Thora Birch

Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress, producer, and director. She made her feature film debut with a starring role in ''Purple People Eater'' (1988), for which she won a Young Artist Award for "Best Actress Under Nine Years of Age". Birch rose to prominence as a child star during the 1990s through a string of parts in films, including ''Paradise'' (1991), ''Patriot Games'' (1992), ''Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Monkey Trouble'' (1994), ''Now and Then'' (1995), and ''Alaska'' (1996). Her breakthrough into adult-oriented roles came with her portrayal of Jane Burnham in ''American Beauty'' (1999), for which she was nominated for that year's BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.

Birch received further acclaim—and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress—for starring as Enid Coleslaw in the cult hit ''Ghost World'' (2001), and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work in the 2003 television film ''Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story''. Her other film credits during the 2000s included ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (2000), ''The Hole'' (2001), ''Silver City'' (2004), and ''Dark Corners'' (2006). Birch took a break from acting after producing and starring in the film ''Petunia'' (2012). She returned in 2016 and has since appeared in various independent films, such as ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). From 2019 to 2020, she played Mary (aka "Gamma") in the tenth season of the AMC series ''The Walking Dead''.

In 2022, Birch made her directorial debut with the Lifetime television film ''The Gabby Petito Story''. She will make her directorial debut film with an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel ''Mr. Paradise'', making her the first woman to direct the film adaptation. Provided by Wikipedia