Mika Boorem

MIKA BOOREM

Date of Birth: August 18, 1987

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Mika Boorem began her acting career onstage at the age of six in various theatre productions. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she began getting roles in television commercials, and by the age of nine, she had landed a plum guest role on the television series Touched By An Angel. Roles on other series followed in quick succession, including appearing on the pilot of Ally McBeal in the role of young Ally; Providence; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; and a role in the television reunion movie, A Walton Easter (1997).

Her first role in a feature film came in the period flick The Education of Little Tree (1997), playing a little girl who befriends an American Indian boy, much to the consternation of her small-minded parents. The role earned her a Young Artist Award nomination, as did her appearance on an episode of The Drew Carey Show. The following year, she was nominated for a YoungStar Award for her role in Jack Frost (1998). Roles followed in Mighty Joe Young (1998) and Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000). It was her role as Mel Gibson’s oldest daughter in the period war drama, The Patriot (2000), that not only earned her a third Young Artist Award nomination, but it forced audiences to sit up and take notice of the tiny actress who could portray both emotional fragility and inner strength equally well.

Not taking a break from her busy work schedule, the youngster next filmed Along Came a Spider (2001), followed by Hearts in Atlantis (2001), which garnered her yet another Young Artist Award nomination. The same year, she appeared as a younger version of Drew Barrymore’s character in Riding in Cars with Boys. In Blue Crush (2002), she played the rebellious young sister of a competitive surfer, and appears as Julia Stile’s younger sister in Carolina, also starring Shirley MacLaine.

In 2013, Mika made her directorial debut with the short film Love Thy Neighbor, which she also wrote and produced.

While studying at the prestigious Le Lycée Français School in Los Angeles, Mike received a Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. She has since co-founded a charity named MadaKilonga, which works for the betterment of children in Madagascar.

Filmography:

Good Day for It (2011)
Smile (2004)
Sleepover (2004)
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)
Carolina (2003)
Blue Crush (2002)
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
Along Came a Spider (2001)
The Patriot (2000)
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Jack Frost (1998)
The Education of Little Tree (1997)