The Forgotten Actress Club: "Fairuza Balk"

The first actress to be inducted into the club:

The hypnotic

Fairuza Balk.

Best Known For: Return To OZ ~ The Craft ~ Gas, Food, Lodging (Independent Spirit Award Winner)~ Valmont ~ Almost Famous ~ American History X ~ The Waterboy, Her breakthrough came when she was chosen from millions of young girls vying to play the new Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ sequel Return To OZ. The film was unfortunately a near flop because it boldly yet cleverly veered away from the happy musical feel of the original... and decided to embrace the book's darker side. Balk was a perfect Dorothy for what would later become a cult classic-- and rightly so. The film is in many ways better thathe Judy Garland classic. A thrilling adventure... that is oftentimes scary. The imagery of the headless dancing girls... whos heads are kept in a case will stay with you forever...

Balk would later win a deserving Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress in the great little film Gas, Food, Lodging... and should have been considered an Oscar contender-- the same with her enormous support in American History X.But it was the witchy flick The Craft that really broke her into stardom. Playing the sexy nose-pierced bad-ass witch of an elite high school coven. The youthful film itself is actually remarkable, and found it's way into the same league of 90's classic's like Heathers.

"Watch out for the weirdo's, girls." ~ "We are the weirdo's, mister."

Fairuza earned a high profile appearance in Almost Famous... and shortly after began to fade prematurely. She had a notable performance in the indy Personal Velocity then her career sadly stalled.

My prediction:

With a memorable face that has the ability to transform for sexy and dramatic and frightening roles, it's a wonder that in her mid 30's she isn't being begged for.

Having several long-span leaps between noteworthy performances over the years-- she is due for another. Each time she gains more attention. Let's hope that a gritty project of a drug-abused or wrongly accused woman is somewhere in the waiting zone. She could very well give it her all and to everyone's surprise find her way to the Oscar podium. She is that memorable. She is that good. And she does not deserve to be forgotten. And with that vote of confidence she cannot stay in this club for long...