Child star of iconic 90s classic makes a dazzling return at Cannes red carpet
The star made her cinematic debut aged only six.
Former child star Thora Birch has made a rare public appearance to tread the red carpet at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The actor, 43, made her film debut at only six years old in 1988 but became a household name four years later, when she starred in the 90s classic Hocus Pocus.
Starring alongside witches Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler, Birch played eight-year-old Dani Dennison – the intended victim of the Sanderson sisters.
Thora went on to star in a number of cult and critic favourites, including American Beauty in 1999 and Ghost World in 2001.
She now stars in the Kristen Stewart-directed drama The Chronology of Water, where she appears alongside Imogen Poots, Tom Sturridge and Jim Belushi.
And, as the film held its premiere at Cannes this weekend, Thora took to the red carpet along with her co-stars and director.
The actor stepped out at Cannes this weekend (Picture: Getty Images) Thora joined Imogen Poots, Kristen Stewart and Kim Gordon pose at the premiere of The Chronology of Water (Picture: Getty Images)Posing on the carpet in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, Thora joined Imogen, Kristen and singer/actress Kim Gordon in front of the cameras as the film’s premiere was held.
Adapted from the 2011 memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, the film follows Olympic hopeful Lidia (Imogen) as she falls under the thrall of writer and university professor Ken Kersey (Jim) as he leads thirteen graduate students in the writing of a novel.
The Chronology of Water will be Kristen’s directorial debut (Picture: Cannes Film Festival)In doing so, she finds herself using drugs and S&M as an escape from her traumatic upbringing, in a film Twilight alum Kristen promised will be ‘hard to watch.’
‘It’s a self-conscious thing to talk about, because it’s hard to get anything made. You know, [a film] that’s not regurgitating something that’s pretty standardised,’ Kristen teased of her directorial debut.
‘My movie is about incest and periods and a woman violently repossessing her voice and body, and it is, at times, hard to watch… but it’s gonna be a f**king thrill ride.
Thora plays Lidia’s older sister, Claudia, a minor role described by Variety as ‘not just as a comeback, but as a new beginning.’
She starred as Dani Dennison in 1993’s Hocus Pocus (Picture: THA/REX/Shutterstock)Prior to Hocus Pocus, Thora made her debut in the 1988 family film Purple People Eater before going on to play the daughter of CIA Agent Jack Ryan in the 1992 Harrison Ford feature Patriot Games.
After her early role in Hocus Pocus, the star subsequently appeared in Patriot Games’ 1994 sequel, Clear and Present Danger, where she reprised her role as Sally Ryan.
Then, in 1999, she appeared as Jane Burnham in American Beauty, at age 17, and followed this up with the 2001 cult horror film The Hole.
Thora starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)That same year, she appeared in the indie comic book adaptation Ghost World, starring opposite Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi as world-weary teenager Enid.
Since then, she’s kept busy, appearing in nine episodes of The Walking Dead and in an episode of Anne Rice’s The Mayfair Witches.
She was, however, notable for her absence in the 2022 sequel Hocus Pocus 2 due to scheduling conflicts.
Thora appeared in the 1991 classic American Beauty (Picture: THA/REX/Shutterstock) Comment nowDo you remember Thora Birch?Comment Now‘There were about two or three different versions of Dani,’ she told The Wrap, of her plans for Dani in the sequel.
‘My ideal one was to have her running the museum of the house, to kind of like keep a watch, making sure that, you know, it doesn’t happen again, or whatever, and then she could, like, guide whoever brings it back.
‘But that was just my thought. There were a couple of other ideas… There were several options, and they all would have worked.’
Sadly, Thora’s involvement in the film wasn’t to be – although she stressed that she ‘really did’ want to be involved, confirming that she’d be ‘happily watching it’ at home instead.
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