Overview (2)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trivia (23)

Has a Green Belt in Karate.





Her parents, Jack Birch Carol Connors , thought that she would be a boy, and planned on naming the child Thor, after the Norse God of Thunder and Lightning. When she was born, however, her parents feminized the name and called her Thora.

Does her own stunts.



Used to live on her family ranch in East Los Angeles.





Was fired from Election (1999) due to differences with director Alexander Payne



Older sister of Bolt Birch



Gained 20 pounds for her role in Ghost World (2001).



Was actually only 16 years old at the time she was filmed nude for a scene in American Beauty (1999). She told TV talk show host Craig Kilborn when she appeared on his show in 2002 that her parents didn't have a problem with her doing a nude scene, despite her being under age, and they encouraged her to go ahead and do it. They agreed that her character's nude scene was so important to the development of her character that they gave their approval.

Her maternal grandmother was the daughter of Polish immigrants, and her maternal grandfather was of French-Canadian, Irish, and German ancestry.



Was a contributing director for sketch comedy group The Doomed Planet.





Appeared in Moby 's video "We Are All Made Of Stars" (2002) and "Eat You Alive" by Limp Bizkit (2003).

The family's surname was originally said to be Biersch, of German-Jewish origin. Her ancestry also includes Polish, French-Canadian, German, Irish, Italian, and Scandinavian.





She got her first role at the age of 6 in the short-lived sitcom Day by Day (1988).



She bested 4,000 young hopefuls to land the role of Billie Pike in Paradise (1991).



She auditioned for the role of Natalie in Evil Dead (2013).



She was originally cast in the lead role in The Quiet (2005), but dropped out. Camilla Belle replaced her.



She was originally cast as Tammy Metzler in Election (1999), but was fired due to creative differences with Alexander Payne Jessica Campbell replaced her.

She was scheduled to make her NY stage debut in an off-Broadway revival of "Dracula". Four days before the play was supposed to open, Birch was fired and asked to leave the theater immediately, due to interference from her manager/father. He had been supervising every detail of his daughter's performance during rehearsals. When he saw another actor giving Birch a back rub, he demanded that the actor stop. The actor in question explained that he was following directions from the play's director. Reportedly, he told the actor, "Listen, man, I'm trying to make this easier on you - don't touch her". The actor felt that Birch's tone was threatening. This led to her being terminated.



Some of Thora's special skills include skiing, dancing, cycling, and kayaking.



One of the commercials she did at age of 4 was 'Just say no' for an anti drug campaign.



Born on exactly the same date as Lindsey McKeon (of "Saved by the Bell" fame).



Personal Quotes (10)



I admire Jodie Foster . Her head is screwed on really well. It's not loose at all.

For me, romance isn't an over-the-top act. It's someone offering to help and to support me. Or if that person thinks I'm making the wrong decision, he'll tell me. I want him to be honest, because being that honest takes a lot of guts.



If I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I look in the mirror and see the most vile creature. But if I'm feeling comfortable about myself, then I'm more accepting. I'm not like, "Oh my God! look at that gorgeous person." It's just like, "Yeah, okay. That's doable."





[on her nude scene in American Beauty (1999)] It was very, very difficult for me to come to terms with it in a personal way. Creatively, I was solid. I understood the importance and significance of that scene and I had known in advance that it was going to happen. As you can imagine, I had spoken with the director, Sam Mendes , and we both agreed it was not a gratuitous scene, rather a very realistic moment in Jane and Ricky's relationship.

I tried to walk a fine line between being alluring and somewhat glamorous but maintain a strong identity and pursue things that were a little more thoughtful, and I guess nobody really wanted women to do that at that time.



I pissed a lot of people off over a long period of time and they found a way to upset me, hoping that upset would bring a change in my behavior. Like a distancing ... But I'm done, I'm done. People wanted me to be not fine. A lot of it was bullshit.





(On being fired from Election (1999)) I read the script one way and it became clear that he ( Alexander Payne ) had seen something else, so that was it. I just thought, this is ridiculous: why is it written this way?

I just felt like I was making people angry, because I wouldn't wear the frilly bows. I just didn't take advice and I think people got pissed off at me for not taking advice.



You can't help but feel, 'great, now we have this stain on the film,' but no - it shouldn't be on the film. Who's to blame? It's Kevin. It doesn't have anything to do with American Beauty.



I think it's up to someone like me who was a part of American Beauty to try to remind everyone that it was an entire community who made this film. We all love this film. And it doesn't have anything to do with Kevin at the end of the day.

