Fairuza Balk

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 and blockbuster features.

Balk made her feature film debut as Dorothy Gale in Return to Oz (1985), for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award and a Young Artist Award. 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. Balk received acclaim and a cult following for her portrayal of Nancy Downs in The Craft (1996). Her other credits include The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), American History X (1998), The Waterboy (1998), Almost Famous (2000), Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006), 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 and played the recurring role of Ginger on Showtime's Ray Donovan (2015). 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". Her father gave her the name because of the color of her eyes. Feldthouse was one of the founding members of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Kaleidoscope, and was also a traveling folk musician.

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 British Columbia tourism commercial, for which she earned $100. Her debut role was in a 1983 television film 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 to MGM's 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz. This role led to others, including that of Mildred Hubble in The Worst Witch. In 1988, at age 14, she moved to Paris to work on Valmont with Miloš Forman. She decided to take correspondence courses 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.

In 1996, she appeared in a lead role in The Craft, in which her character formed a teenage coven 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 opposite Edward Norton in American History X, and was featured in The Waterboy, alongside Adam Sandler. 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, Family Guy, 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 and created a 16"x20"x12" mixed-media sculpture. The eclectic mix of songs chosen were featured for digital download on iTunes.

Filmography

+Television Year Title Role Notes 1983 Beth Bradley Television film 1985 Deceptions Penny Roberts 1986 Mildred Hubble 1987 Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Barbara—Age 12 1991 Deadly Intentions... Again? Stacey 1992 Shame Lizzie Curtis Lisa 1993 Murder in the Heartland Caril Ann Fugate 2 episodes 1994 ZZ Top: Breakaway Vampire Girl Television film 1995 Shadow of a Doubt Angel Harwell 1999–2000 Family Guy Connie D'Amico Voice, 2 episodes 2001 The Sopranos Agent Deborah Ciccerone Episode: "Army of One" (original airing only) 2003 Justice League Penny Dee Voice, episode: "Only a Dream" 2006 Orpheus Karen Unaired pilot 2006 Masters of Horror Stacia Episode: "Pick Me Up" 2011–2012 Celebrity Ghost Stories Herself 3 episodes 2015 Ray Donovan Ginger 7 episodes 2021 Paradise City Lizzie Thomas 8 episodes 2022 Close Enough Roxy Voice, episode: "Halloween Enough"

+Video games Year Title Voice role Notes 2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Mercedes Cortez 2003 Lords of EverQuest Lady T'Lak 2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Mercedes Cortez Archival recordingsRemaster of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City only