See '90s Child Star Thora Birch Now at 40

Here's what the Hocus Pocus and Now and Then actor is doing toady.


Throughout the 1990s, Thora Birch starred in some of the most successful movies of the decade, from her child star days to taking on more mature roles around the turn of the millennium. To list just a few of her projects: She played Harrison Ford's daughter inPatriot Games. She starred in the coming-of-age movieJetzt und dann and the Halloween hit Hocus Pocus. In 1999, she starred inamerikanische Schönheit, and in 2001, she was in the cult classic Geisterwelt.

Today, Birch is still acting. She was recently in an acclaimed movie and had a recurring role in a long-running TV show. She's also moved into the worlds of podcasting and directing. Read on to find out more about Birch's life now at 40.

Lesen Sie dies als nächstes:See Former Child Star Haley Joel Osment Now at 34.

Her acting career is still thriving.

Thora Birch at the premiere of
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Making the transition into being an adult actor doesn't seem to have been too difficult for the star. But, around the early 2010s, Birch was taking on fewer roles. Sie sagteDer Wächter im Jahr 2014that at one point she "decided to take a break and live my life, branch out a little, educate myself." These days, she's back to working more regularly on screen. Recently, she had a role in the acclaimed 2019 movie The Last Black Man in San Francisco. She also played the role of Gamma/Mary onDIe laufenden Toten in 2019 and 2020. Other movie roles include The Etruscan Smile, Über jeden Verdacht erhaben, und13 Minutes.

She's about to direct her first movie.

Thora Birch at the opening of a Hugo Boss store in Los Angeles in 1999
J. Vespa/WireImage via Getty Images

As announced in May 2022, Birch is going to direct her first feature film, a movie for Lifetime about the killing of Gabby Petito. Birch is also going to play Petito's mother.

"I've been wanting to direct since I was about nine or ten years old," Birch told RogerEbert.com in May. "The first films that I worked on where I really felt like I was an actor, starting with Paradies, were also the first ones where I noticed that according to everybody else, the most important person on the set was the director. That got me thinking, 'If that's the most important person, then that's what I want to be doing.' On every project I worked on from that point on, the role of the director became my focus."

For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

She stars in a podcast series.

Thora Birch at the Outfest Film Festival in 2021
Eugene Powers / Shutterstock

Birch currently stars in the thriller podcast series Overleaper, in which she plays multiple characters.

"Well, I will admit, it had me at the word 'podcast,'" Birch told ComicBook.com about joining the series, "but once I delved into the characters and the story and the overall trajectory of where this story was going, the fact that it was a mixture of a thriller, sci-fi, all these elements and in a weird, weird way, even a true crime element, all these elements came together to me."

Sie hat geheiratet.

Thora Birch at the Casting Society of America's Artios Awards in 2020
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Birch married talent agent Michael Benton Adler in 2018. The actor posted about the wedding—which took place at San Francisco City Hall, as reported by W Magazine—on social media.

"It's done! I'm a married woman now," she wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of herself and Adler. "This is not the official photo but it's my thank you to all my fans for their positive energy! I felt it every second!! party time. Hehe."AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

She's not part of a highly anticipated sequel.

Thora Birch at the 22nd Annual Roger Ebert Film Festival in April 2022
Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images for The Roger Ebert's Film Festival

After nearly 30 years, a Hocus Pocus sequel is scheduled to be released this September, but, unfortunately, Birch is not returning to her role of Dani. Asked by ComicBook.com if she would at least have a cameo, Birch said, "Everybody tried so hard. Everybody tried so hard to make that happen and it just didn't, but everybody tried so hard. That was everybody's intention. But you know what? At the end of the day, just between you and I, I'd probably rather play [Bette Midler's witch character] Winifred in the future. I'd probably rather play Winnie."

Lesen Sie dies als nächstes:See Former Child Star Soleil Moon Frye Now at 45.


Die Top 7 der neuen Celebrity-Babys von 2018
Die Top 7 der neuen Celebrity-Babys von 2018
Die 15 strengsten kontroversen TV-Serienenden aller Zeiten
Die 15 strengsten kontroversen TV-Serienenden aller Zeiten
Diese 4 Getränke explodieren in der Popularität, sagt neue Yelp-Daten
Diese 4 Getränke explodieren in der Popularität, sagt neue Yelp-Daten