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Fairuza Balk Profile |
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Birth Date: May 21, 1974
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Birth Place: Point Reyes, California, USA
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Birth Name: Fairuza Alejandra Feldthouse
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Height: 5'3"
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Biography |
Fairuza Balk was born on May 21, 1974, in Point
Reyes, California, to Solomon Feldthouse, a Persian
musician, and Cathryn Balk, a Gypsy belly dancer. Fairuza's
parents split up shortly after her birth and Ru (Fairuza's
nickname) grew up north of San Francisco on a commune/ranch
with her hippie mother.
When Fairuza was about 7 years old, she moved with her
mother to Vancouver, Canada, after her mother accepted a job
there. Soon after, Fairuza landed her first acting role in
the made-for-TV movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
(1983).
She and her mother moved again, this time to England, so
that Fairuza could attend the Royal Academy of Dance and the
Bush Davies Performing Arts School.
Fairuza's specialized schooling paid off when she beat out
over 1,000 other girls in a widespread search to fill
Dorothy's ruby slippers in a Wizard of Oz sequel called
Return to Oz (1985). Fairuza next took her first role as a
witch in The Worst Witch, a 1986 HBO movie based on the
popular children's book. She went on to play the role of a
young Barbara Hutton in the made-for-TV movie, Poor Little
Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, in 1987.
Fairuza attracted attention as a virgin promised in marriage
to someone 30 years her senior, in Milos Forman's Valmont
(1989). Fairuza went on to land the role of a young rape
victim in the Lifetime Cable-TV film Shame (1992), and her
outstanding performance earned her a CableACE Award
nomination for Best Actress.
But the first role to really thrust Fairuza Balk into the
spotlight was her portrayal of Ione Skye's sensitive younger
sister in Allison Anders' independent hit, Gas Food Lodging
(1992), for which she received the prestigious Independent
Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.
In 1993, she co-starred opposite Tim Roth as a murderous
teenage runaway in the made-for-TV movie Murder in the
Heartland (based on the true story of Caril Ann Fugate and
Charles Starkweather), and the following year she was seen
as an elder daughter forced to become the head of the
household when her father's schemes turn sour, in 1994's
Imaginary Crimes, opposite Harvey Keitel. She realistically
and sympathetically played a self-destructive young
prostitute in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
(1995).
Fairuza continued landing steady roles in feature films,
most notably as a troubled high school student involved in
witchcraft in the film that elevated her to cult status, The
Craft (1996). With a cast of (then) emerging teen stars
including Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney, the
supernatural thriller became a hit and a favorite among
teenage girls. But this was more than just a role for
Fairuza, who was by then a practicing occultist -- she once
owned an occult shop in Hollywood called Panpipes Magickal
(she has since sold it).
In 1996, Fairuza appeared in The Island of Dr. Moreau, in
which she showed off her belly dancing talent and attracted
the attention of her British co-star David Thewlis, whom she
was rumored to have dated. The pair went on to star in the
1997 movie, American Perfekt (1997).
Fairuza Balk co-starred with Edward Norton and Edward
Furlong in American History X (1998), a film about a violent
white supremacist who changes his ways.
Continuing her box-office presence, Fairuza also played Adam
Sandler's love interest in the hit comedy, The Waterboy
(1998). That same year, she appeared in the independent
feature There's No Fish Food In Heaven, opposite Debi Mazar.
In 2000, she played a "Band-Aid" groupie in Cameron Crowe's
critically-acclaimed Almost Famous, about a high school boy
who ends up touring with a '70s rock band. In 2002, Fairuza
appeared along with Drea de Matteo and Stephen Dorff in the
box-office disappointment Deuces Wild, a 1950s street gang
movie. That same year she gave a touching performance in the
indie film, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits.
Balk recently provided her voice for the video games Grand
Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Lords of Everquest (2003).
She was also the voice of the "Snail" in Crispin Glover's,
What Is It?. You can catch Fairuza Balk in 2005's A Year and
a Day.
In addition to acting and belly dancing, Fairuza Balk's
interests include writing poetry, reading (her favorite
authors are James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and
Balzac), playing the guitar, and singing. Fittingly enough,
she has five cats: MoMo, Scout, Oscar, Sweetpea Poteet
Tennessee, and Mouse. Unfortunately, Fairuza is now spoken
for -- she's been sporting a diamond ring courtesy of Steve
Gilmour. |
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Other
Information |
When she was born, her father took one look at her eyes and
exclaimed "Firuze!" which is Farsi for "turquoise."
Once appeared as a vampire in a ZZ Top video
Born at 3:00am-PDT
She once fully owned her own Occult Craft shop in California
called Panpipes. In 2001, she sold 50% of the business to a
co-owner. Later, she sold her remaining share of the store
to the current owners.
Has nine tattoos and a nose ring.
Has a triangle-shaped tattoo on her shoulder because the
soldiers of the Nazi regime branded the symbol on the Romany
in concentration camps. This is her way of paying respect to
her culture and remembering the suffering her ancestors
endured.
Is of Persian and Romany heritage.
A 2002 Internet poll confirmed that fans' favorite movie she
did was The Craft (1996)
She is dyslexic.
Enjoys listening to punk rock
Plays guitar and piano
Loves to read, and her favorite authors are William S.
Burroughs, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Carl Jung, Isabel
Allende, Mikhail A. Bulgakov, Ernest Hemingway, and Honoré
de Balzac.
Ranked #88 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The
World" (2002)
Has Irish ancestry |
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