Fairuza Balk, 52, Shines as Jewelry Designer

Fairuza Balk was a big movie star in the 1990s who worked often in hit projects.

The 52-year-old star got her start as Dorothy Gale in the 1985 film Return to Oz then appeared with Annette Bening in 1989's Valmont.

She had the lead role in 1992's Gas Food Lodging opposite Ione Skye then was in Imaginary Crimes (1994) and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995).

Her career really took off when she starred as Nancy Downs alongside Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney in 1996's The Craft. 

In recent years she has become a jewelry designer and is a lead singer in a band.

On Thursday the star shared a rare selfie where she said, 'Still haven’t learned how to use the filters yet hahahaha, sun hat for a sunny day, just saying Hello and sending you guys my love xoxo.' 

Balk had a steady climb in Hollywood as she made over 50 movies.

After The Craft she was in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), American History X (1998) and The Waterboy (1998).

In 2000, she starred opposite Kate Hudson in Almost Famous as Sapphire, a role that earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination.

The California native also popped up in Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002), Deuces Wild (2002), Don't Come Knocking (2005) and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009).

She was also on the TV series Ray Donovan in 2015 and Paradise City in 2021.

The thespian also appeared in Hell Is Where the Home Is in 2018 and made a cameo appearance in the 2020 spinoff The Craft: Legacy, reprising her role as Nancy Downs. 

These days Fairuza, who name means 'turquoise' in Persian, has been working as a jewelry designer.

In May she shared a photo of one of the rings she made to Instagram.

'I'm really proud of what I’m doing and so glad to have a way to continue learning and adding to this new skill set!' her caption read.

'I will be adding this piece to the store tonight hopefully. Thank you for sharing in my wee victories:).'

Balk is also the lead singer of Armed Love Militia. 

She has also been selling graphics of herself from her most notable roles including as her character in The Craft. 

She was once the owner of the occult shop, previously called Panpipes Magickal Marketplace, where she researched to prepare for the movie but sold the store in 2001. 

Balk grew up in Point Reyes in Northern California.

But then she moved to Los Angeles to get work as a Hollywood actress. 

Balk told the Live Journal that she was supported when she was a child actress as her mother was by her side as she worked.

'My mom was there with me, though, so she - every night, before I went to bed, we'd sit and look at the scenes for the next day and just memorize them till I had them down for the next day,' she said.

'It was a lot of work, and I think towards the end of the filming - um, it was a very long shoot. It was about eight or nine months. 

'Um, towards the end of the filming, I got a little tired, and that's when I began to realize it was work. Because it wasn't just, you know, what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it.

'You had to get up every morning and go and be a professional, and as a child, that's kind of a hard concept to grasp, and you have to get it. You have to grasp it like that. [snaps] 

'There's no fooling around, you know. You can't not go when you feel like playing, you know? [laughs] You have to be responsible, and I think it makes you an adult very quickly.'

In 2022 she told Dazed magazine that it is important for her to remain true to herself and turn down big roles that didn't align with her values or artistic integrity.