Tami Stronach
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Tami Stronach (born July 31, 1972) is an actor, dancer, filmmaker, and professor. A childhood performance as the Childlike Empress in the 1984 film ''The NeverEnding Story'' led to a record deal and music video in Germany. After receiving inappropriate attention as a young star, Stronach pivoted to dancing. As an adult, she has branched into teaching, producing dance performances, filmmaking, and supporting child performers.


Personal life

David Stronach was a Scottish Christian (1931–2020). After he won the lottery, he moved to
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, Iran, to pursue
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
. There, he met Ruth Vaadia, an Israeli Jew (1937–2017). They married after a 48-hour romance. Tami Stronach was born to David and Ruth on July 31, 1972, in the
Imperial State of Iran Imperial is that which relates to an empire, Emperor, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania ...
. Tami Stronach, her sister Keren, and their parents fled the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
to
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, where they briefly lived with Ruth's parents. They again moved to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and then finally to
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
in 1981 to allow David to teach at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. By late 2014, Stronach and her daughter Maya (born ) lived in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
; Stronach was married to Greg Steinbruner as of mid-2020. She speaks English,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, and Persian.


Career

In addition to her artistic projects, Stronach also followed in her father's footsteps, becoming a
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Acting

As a child, Stronach studied
musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
in Berkeley. While portraying Piglet in a
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
stage adaptation of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'', she was approached by the casting director for ''The NeverEnding Story'' and asked to audition for the role of the Childlike Empress. After three auditions, Stronach beat Heather O'Rourke to star in the 1984 film. What ''Vice'' described as "the Empress' quasi- British accent ..of indeterminate origin", was actually Stronach's natural accent, a result of having lived in Iran, Israel, the UK, and the US. Ruth Stronach lived with her daughter in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
for the three-month film shoot, and afterwards declined a sequel contract for her daughter, worried about lacking the wherewithal to "help her daughter navigate the turbulent waters of childhood stardom in the film industry". After ''The NeverEnding Story'' became a sensational success, the Stronachs were besieged with unwanted attention: their home and telephone were stalked, adults proposed to the eleven-year-old with engagement rings, and she received "offers from Hollywood to play roles featuring scenes (with nudity) completely inappropriate for someone her age". Stronach returned to acting in 2002 with a physical theatre company, and by 2006 had performed in ''Chambre'' at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and was continuing to study acting with Laura Esterman.


Singing

During the junket for ''The NeverEnding Story'', Stronach appeared on a German
talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...
and was asked how much German language she had learned; after explaining she only knew the lyrics to " 99 Luftballons", she agreed to sing live on TV. The next day, a
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
offered a record deal. With only three days left in the country, the Stronachs agreed to the contract, songs were written, Stronach recorded them and starred in a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, and she eagerly performed one of the songs—"Fairy Queen"—on two German TV shows, all before returning to the US. She later said of the whirlwind experience: "It was insane, ..And then literally that was it. We didn't change the ticket."


Dancing

Switching her focus from acting to professional dancing after ''The NeverEnding Story'', Stronach devoted herself to that study for ten years (through her twenties) in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. In 1996, Stronach began dancing with Neta Pulvermacher and Dancers, though she has also exhibited her own productions at Dixon Place, Washington Square Park, and the
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...
.


Production

By the 2010s, Stronach had co-founded a
theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
called Shoehorn Theater; in 2012, they began creating a new play, ''Light: A Dark Comedy'' ("a group generative effort where everyone is involved in every step of the creation"). Steinbruner and Stronach created The Paper Canoe Company, an entertainment business that focused on "children's theatre, film, and education". After the TV series ''
Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...
'' used " The NeverEnding Story" and renewed interest in Stronach and the 1984 film, the couple began making their own 1980s-styled fantasy film. '' Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps'' stars Shohreh Aghdashloo, Sean Astin, Michael Emerson, Christopher Lloyd, Rhea Perlman, Stronach herself (as the Witch), and her daughter, Maya. In February 2023, the film was in
post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...
. It was released on July 28, 2024.


Credits


References


Further reading

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stronach, Tami 1972 births 20th-century actresses 21st-century actresses female dancers film child actresses living people people of Israeli descent people of Scottish descent stage actresses