May 21, 1974

Point Reyes, California, USA

Fairuza Balk was born as Fairuza Alejandra Feldthouse in Point
Reyes, California to Cathryn Balk, a belly dancer of Dutch descent, and
Solomon Feldthouse, a musician. It is said that when she was born her
father saw her turquoise eyes and exclaimed, "Fairuza!", meaning
"turquoise." Soon after her
parents divorced, Balk and her mother became world travelers. She was
raised for the first part of her life in San Francisco on a commune-type
ranch. They then moved to Vancouver when she was nin... ... (read more...) e. At 11 they moved to
London, where she attended various prestigious ballet and acting schools.
It was at this time that she was selected by the Walt Disney Company to
star in Return to Oz, the loose sequel to 1939's The Wizard of Oz. It was
not her first role (that was a television movie called The Best Christmas
Pageant Ever made in 1983), but it was the one that brought her attention
as an actress
.

The role lead to other minor roles, and in 1988 she moved to Paris to do
more work as an actress. By 1989 she was back in Vancouver, where she
attended high school.However, she soon decided to take correspondence
courses instead and went back to Hollywood, where she gained increasing
notice as an actress. In 1992 she was awarded an Independent Spirit Award
as best actress for her performance in the Allison Anders film Gas Food
Lodging.

A couple of years later she cast in as lead role in The Craft, in which
her character forms a teenage coven with characters portrayed by Neve
Campbell, Rachel True and Robin Tunney. Her casting would seem
particularly appropriate as Balk studies Wicca in real life and was part
owner of a store dedicated to that religion named Panpipes Magickal
Marketplace. She has since sold her interest in the store and is no longer
affiliated with it.

Balk has continued to find roles. She had a memorable performance as a
neo-Nazi opposite Edward Norton in American History X (1998) and since
2000 she has appeared in half a dozen movies. She has also done voice work
for animated films and video games, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.