Thora Birch born March 11, is an American actress, producer, and director. Birch rose to prominence as a child star during the s through a string of parts in films, including Paradise , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Monkey Trouble , Now and Then , and Alaska Birch took a break from acting after producing and starring in the film Petunia Paradise , making her the first woman to direct the film adaptation.
Because of their own experience with the entertainment industry, Birch's parents were reluctant to encourage her to act, but were persuaded to show Birch's photograph to talent agents by a babysitter who noticed her imitating commercials. The show ran for two seasons and earned Birch a further two Young Artist nominations.
In , Birch was cast in a principal role on Parenthood , a sitcom based on the film of the same name , which ran for a single season on NBC. Birch co-starred as Billie Pike in the drama Paradise , with Roger Ebert commenting in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times that Birch played the role with "strong, simple charm". The film was a moderate financial success, [ 18 ] but found an audience on television and home video in subsequent years.
At age 11, Birch starred in the Halloween-set fantasy film Hocus Pocus , playing Dani Dennison, the younger sister of a teenage boy who inadvertently resurrects a trio of witches. In the comedy Monkey Trouble , Birch portrayed a girl who befriends a Capuchin monkey. In a positive review for the Austin Chronicle , Marjorie Baumgarten observed that Birch's "nuanced performance a rarity amongst child performers no doubt lends Monkey Trouble its realistic touch".
The film was largely dismissed by critics upon release, [ 27 ] but has since been recognised as a milestone of its genre. The Austin Chronicle found it to be a "decent kids' adventure movie" with an "impeccable" performance by Birch. Birch appeared in several projects in firstly, the made-for-television film Night Ride Home , where she played a teenager grieving the loss of her older brother.
