Fairuza Balk (born May 21, 1974) is an American actress, musician, and visual artist. Known for her portrayals of distinctive characters—often with a dark edge and " goth-girl" persona—she has appeared in numerous

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

and blockbuster features. Following a series of television roles, Balk made her feature film debut as

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most o ...

in '' Return to Oz'' (1985), for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award and a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best Starring Performance. Her career progressed with parts in films such as '' Valmont'' (1989) and '' Gas Food Lodging'' (1992), the latter earning her an

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Geraldine Page bei ...

. After roles in '' Imaginary Crimes'' (1994) and '' Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead'' (1995), Balk received acclaim and a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

for her portrayal of Nancy Downs in '' The Craft'' (1996), which earned her an MTV Movie Award. Her other credits include '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1996), ''

American History X ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye (in his feature directorial debut) and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are invol ...

'' (1998), '' The Waterboy'' (1998), '' Almost Famous'' (2000), '' Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'' (2002), '' Deuces Wild'' (2002), '' Don't Come Knocking'' (2005), '' Wild Tigers I Have Known'' (2006), '' Humboldt County'' (2008), and '' Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans'' (2009). Outside of film, Balk portrayed Mildred Hubble in the 1986 television adaptation of ''

The Worst Witch ''The Worst Witch'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by English author Jill Murphy. The series are primarily about a girl named Mildred Hubble who attends a witch school and fantasy stories, with eight books published. ...

'', based on the book series of the same name. She played the recurring role of Ginger on Showtime's ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The drama, starring Liev Schreiber in the title role, is set primarily in Los Angeles (during seasons 1–5) and in New York City (during seaso ...

'' in 2015, and starred as Lizzie Thomas in the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series '' Paradise City'' in 2021. Balk has been releasing music since 2010 under the name of her unsigned act, Armed Love Militia.

Early life

Balk was born on May 21, 1974, in Point Reyes, California, to Solomon Feldthouse (born David Earle Scaff; 1940–2021), a musician, and Cathryn Balk (1944–2018), a belly dancer. The name Fairuza is of Persian origin meaning "

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...

". Her father gave her the name for the color of her eyes. Feldthouse was one of the founding members of the 1960s psychedelic rock group

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...

, and was also a traveling

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

ian. Until the age of two, Balk lived in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

, with her mother. They then moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, where she began acting at age six. They moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and then to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for another role. They remained there for six months before returning to Vancouver. Balk bought an occult shop in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

while filming the 1996 film '' The Craft''.

Career

Balk took her first acting course around the summer of 1983, where she was taught how to look at a camera and not be shy. Her first experience was in a

tourism commercial, for which she earned $100. Her debut role was in a 1983

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

titled '' The Best Christmas Pageant Ever''. While in London, Balk was cast by Walt Disney Productions to star as Dorothy Gale in '' Return to Oz'', the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to MGM's 1939 musical '' The Wizard of Oz.'' This role led to others, including that of Mildred Hubble in ''

''. In 1988, at age 14, she moved to

to work on '' Valmont'' with

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

. She decided to take correspondence courses and went back to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, where she gained increasing notice as an actress. In 1992, she was awarded an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

as best actress for her performance in the

Allison Anders Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include '' Gas Food Lodging'', '' Mi Vida Loca'' and '' Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Telev ...

film '' Gas Food Lodging''. In 1996, she appeared in a lead role in '' The Craft'', in which her character formed a teenage

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of Witchcraft, witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English lan ...

with characters portrayed by Neve Campbell, Rachel True and Robin Tunney. Since then, Balk has continued to find roles, primarily dark ones. In 1996, she co-starred in '' The Island of Dr Moreau''. In 1998, she played a

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

opposite

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...

in ''

'', and was featured in '' The Waterboy'', alongside

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

. Since 2000, she has appeared in over a dozen films and was briefly in a band called G-13. She has also done voice work for animated films, TV shows and video games, including ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'', ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'', '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' and '' Lords of EverQuest''. The 2007 documentary ''Return to Oz: The Joy That Got Away'' was dedicated to her. In 2010, Armed Love Militia, Balk's musical outlet, released the single "Stormwinds". The track was written and sung by Balk. Armed Love Militia continued, with Balk collaborating on an EP with singer and songwriter Mel Sanson. In 2011, Balk began to exhibit art in Los Angeles and New York. On August 4, 2012, she participated in the group show 'MiXTAPE', with other notable artists Mark Ryden, Camille Rose Garcia, Jessicka Addams, and Marion Peck. Artists were asked to pick a song and create art inspired by that song. Balk chose the song "Nuages" by

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

and created a 16"x20"x12" mixed-media sculpture. The eclectic mix of songs chosen were featured for digital download on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. In 2017, the emo puppet band Fragile Rock performed a song titled "Fairuza Balk" on their NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balk, Fairuza 1974 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from the San Francisco Bay Area American child actresses American expatriate actresses in Canada American expatriates in France American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American film actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners People from Cloverdale, California People from Jackson, Michigan People from Point Reyes, California American expatriate musicians in Canada