Thora Birch Comes Out as Bisexual at The Abbey’s 35th

Thora Birch is living her truth — and she did it in the most fitting place imaginable.

The Hocus Pocus actress, 44, publicly came out as bisexual Wednesday night at The Abbey’s 35th anniversary celebration in West Hollywood, speaking to Us Weekly on the red carpet of the iconic LGBTQ+ institution where she essentially grew up. “As a hometown girl, I’m always here to show my support for the community, which shaped so much of who I am and my identity as well, being a bi person,” she said.

It was a meaningful setting for the reveal. Birch’s rep confirmed that the American Beauty star was raised in West Hollywood, within walking distance of The Abbey — which has been a beloved gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community since it opened in 1991, and was famously a favorite haunt of screen legend Elizabeth Taylor. For Birch, the rep said, the place has always felt like home.

She attended the anniversary party alongside her husband, director Michael Benton Adler, whom she married in 2018.

Beyond her own coming out, Birch used the moment to deliver a message that felt personal and urgent. “I don’t want to get too political, but find your community where you can, and stand with them, and stick with them, and share that love that you share together, and reach it toward others,” she said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get through all this madness is just embracing one another. We have to stop fighting.”

A Career That Keeps Expanding

Birch has been quietly building one of the more interesting second acts in Hollywood. She recently appeared in Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut The Chronology of Water, and currently plays Gifford Mayfair on AMC’s Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. She also stepped behind the camera herself — making her directorial debut with Lifetime’s The Gabby Petito Story in 2022 — and has an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel Mr. Paradise in the pipeline as her next directing project.

In a candid interview with the Independent earlier this year, she reflected on what it cost her to grow up famous. “You can’t develop friendships, or a core group of friends that stay with you,” she said. “So they were these amazing experiences, and opportunities to work with people that I had photos of on my bedroom walls. Would I trade it? No. But it has a heavy price.”

She spoke about peers like Brittany Murphy and Brad Renfro — both lost far too young — and what helped her navigate the same pressures that swallowed others. “What helped me was maintaining a sense of humor. That was key, and also dabbling in other mediums, taking a break, getting my education, living a life outside of any sort of bubble that has a camera pointed at it.”

On Now and Then, Hocus Pocus 3, and the Characters Fans Can’t Let Go

At the event, Birch also got candid about some of the roles her fans hold closest — and what a return to a few of them might look like.

When it comes to a Now and Then sequel, she’s all for it. Rita Wilson recently floated the idea publicly, and Birch is clearly on board. “You know, I love Rita, and bless her heart, and I feel like all of us would love that. I have no idea what that would look like, but it’s a shared dream for sure,” she said — before joking, “Talk to Michael De Luca,” referencing the former New Line Cinema president who distributed the 1995 film. The original featured an all-star cast including Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, Melanie Griffith, and Wilson, with Birch playing the young version of Griffith’s character Teeny.

As for Hocus Pocus 3 — which was recently announced — Birch made clear she’d love a call. Her character Dani was notably absent from 2022’s Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+, but she’s not holding a grudge. “I’d like to know what they land on for how Dani wound up. I’m super open to the idea,” she told Entertainment Tonight last October. Bette Midler, who is set to reprise her role as Winifred Sanderson, told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live around the same time that a script had arrived. “A lot of it was brilliant,” Midler said. “So I got very excited, and now we’re trying to figure out what it is and where it’s going to be and how much it’s going to cost.”

Birch also mused about other cult favorites — particularly Enid from Ghost World. “Who knows what she’s up to? She’s alive, probably,” she laughed, before acknowledging, “I think there’s also something nice about having them encapsulated.”

There’s something fitting about Birch choosing The Abbey — a place woven into her actual childhood, not just her public life — to share this part of herself. It wasn’t a press release or a carefully managed announcement. It was a hometown girl, at a neighborhood institution, saying something true.