www.thora.org Thora was born to Jack and Carol Birch on March 11th, 1982 in Los Angeles, California. Her name is derived from the name of the Norse god of thunder and lightning, Thor. Thora was her parents' first child. As a toddler she was encouraged to audition for commercials and successfully landed parts in several of them, including advertisements and TV commercials for Quaker Oats and Vlasic Pickles. In 1988 she was cast as Molly in the short-lived television series 'Day By Day'and also landed the important role of Molly in the children's movie 'Purple People Eater' which also starred Ned Beatty and Neil Patrick Harris. Thora even won a Youth In Film Award for her performance in the film. In 1990, she got the part of Taylor in 'Parenthood', a television series based on the 1989 film by the same name. In this short-lived sitcom, she replaced Alisan Porter who had played Taylor in the movie. Thora's only sibling, her brother Bolt, was born in 1990. In 1991, she was cast in her first, real break-though role, palying Billie Pike in the movie 'Paradise' along with Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Elijah Wood. Her successful portrayal of a young tomboy landed her parts in many other movies. In 1996 she played Jessie Barnes in the wilderness adventure film 'Alaska' in which she had top billing. She also made guest-starring appearances on various television shows such as 'The Outer Limits', 'Promised Land' and 'Touched By An Angel'. Thora returned to the screen in 1999 with some excellent acting in the made-for-TV movie 'Night Ride Home', and as Jane Burnham in the Oscar-winning 'American Beauty'. She won rave reviews for her appearnces in 'Ghost World' and 'The Hole' and the Seattle International Film Festival honored Thora with the Best Actress Award for her role as Enid in 'Ghost World'.
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