Fairuza Balk

Photo of Fairuza Balk

Biography

Blue-eyed, dark-haired Fairuza Balk weathered the storms of Oz, gradually breaking free from her fresh-faced little kid persona to plunge into dark and depressing film scenarios that ultimately reveal an optimism at her core. She worked first on TV in NBC's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (1983) before beating out 1,200 girls to fill Dorothy's ruby slippers in Walter Murch's feature debut, "Return to Oz" (1985). Refusing to be traumatized by …
Read More »

Job Title

Actor, Music

Born

Fairuza Alejandra Balk on May 21, 1974 in Point Reyes, California, USA

Career Milestones

2009

Co-starred with Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"

2008

Cast opposite Frances Conroy in the comedy "Humboldt County" about a community of counterculture pot farmers

2006

Co-starred in Wim Wenders' neo-Western "Don't Come Knocking" with Sam Shepard

2002

Co-starred in the drama feature "Personal Velocity"

2000

Had supporting role as a sort of groupie, or 'band-aid' in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous"

1998

Acted as a neo-Nazi opposite Edward Norton in Tony Kaye's "American History X"

1997

Co-starred in "American Perfekt" with Robert Forster, Amanda Plummer, Paul Sorvino and Thewlis

1996

Portrayed Marlon Brando's daughter in "The Island of Dr. Moreau"; met future romantic interest, David Thewlis

1996

Experimented with witchcraft in the supernatural thriller "The Craft"

1995

Played a prostitute in "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" opposite Andy Garcia and Steve Buscemi

1994

Shined as Harvey Keitel's older daughter in "Imaginary Crimes"

1993

Acted the real-life part of Caril Ann Fugate in the ABC miniseries "Murder in the Heartland"

1992

Co-starred in Allison Anders' "Gas Food Lodging," as the idealistic younger daughter of a truck-stop waitress (played by Brooke Adams)

1992

Received critical acclaim for her performance in the Lifetime movie "Shame"

1989

Portrayed a 14-year-old girl entangled in an arranged marriage to a man 30 years her senior in "Valmont"; co-starred with Jeffrey Jones, Annette Bening and Colin Firth; based on the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses

1987

Played Barbara (at age 12) in the NBC TV-movie "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story"

1985

Feature acting debut as Dorothy in "Return to Oz"

At eleven years old, moved with her mother to London, where she attended various prestigious ballet and acting schools

1983

First acting role, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (ABC)

1983

Moved to Vancouver with her mother when she was nine years old

Awards

2001

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Almost Famous

1993

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead in Gas Food Lodging