Oh look, another glorious Thora Birch sighting.
The Hocus Pocus alum, 43, made her debut at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival May 16 for the premiere of her film The Chronology of Water, and she was certainly dripping in her finest couture.
In her rare red carpet appearance, Thora donned an oversized black suit, the blazer adorned in dangling crystals that almost look like water droplets. She also posed with her costars Kristen Stewart—who made her directorial debut on the film—Imogen Poots and singer Kim Gordon for photos, with the four sporting coordinated pink and black ensembles.
Thora’s attendance at the festival is notable, considering she’s been out of the spotlight over the last decade. But despite her limited public appearances, she hasn’t completely walked away from acting, as she appeared in AMC’s Mayfair Witches earlier this year. The actress also gave an impressive performance in the tenth season of The Walking Dead in 2019, where she starred as a Whisperer named Gamma.
And while she didn’t have to use too much vocal strength for that role, it was her characters’ lore that inspired her to debut in The Walking Dead universe.
“Once I was caught up to speed with the Whisperers and their worldview and everything in this post-apocalyptic world, it was something that I never really have gotten to play around with,” she told Entertainment Weekly in October 2019. “There were certain themes running throughout the season regarding PTSD, and duplicitousness, and some spy elements that intrigued me right away. Also, I love sweating my butt off, and stabbing things that are already dead. So I was super excited.”
Thora’s latest role in The Chronology of Water comes nearly three years after she didn’t appear in Hocus Pocus’ sequel film in 2022. That year, the actor—who starred as Dani Dennison in the 1993 classic—revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she couldn’t reprise her role due to scheduling conflicts.
“There were three options we had for how to bring Dani back, all of which I was excited by,” she explained at the time. “[But] by the time they got around to filming, I was already on something else.”
And she wasn’t the only OG member that didn’t return for Hocus Pocus 2, as Omri Katz (who portrayed Max), Vinessa Shaw (Allison) and Sean Murray (Thackery Binx) also missed out on the witch-y fun. But despite her absence, Thora will always hold Salem as a special place in her heart.
I’m excited for the fans who have been begging for Hocus Pocus 2 for years,” she shares. “So yeah, I’ll be watching along with everybody else.”
Thora wasn’t the only star at the French film festival. Keep reading to see other stars who attended Cannes this year…
Angelina Jolie
The actress shimmered in a strapless Brunello Cucinelli fall 2025 gown.
Kristen Stewart
The Twilight alum held on tight like a spider monkey at the Breaking Through The Lens event hosted by Campari.
Robert De Niro & Tiffany Chen
The Goodfellas actor walked the red carpet with his girlfriend of four years in matching black ensembles.
Eva Longoria
The Desperate Housewives alum dazzled on the red carpet in a metallic gold and black Tamara Ralph gown.
Alessandra Ambrosio
Green with envy! The Brazilian model dressed to impress in an emerald green Zuhair Murad gown.
Julia Garner
The Inventing Anna star brought a stark contrast to the bright red carpet with a shimmery, sheer black Gucci gown.
Barbara Palvin & Dylan Sprouse
The model and the Disney Channel alum was living the suite life at Campari’s party during the film festival.
Juliette Binoche
The English Patient actress donned a buttery yellow jumpsuit from the Jacquemys Fall 2024 collection ahead of the film festival, where she served as jury president.
Heidi Klum & Tom Kaulitz
The model and her husband matched in all black while stepping out in Cannes ahead of the annual film event.
Bella Hadid
The Orebella founder debuted a new blond ‘do while stepping out in all white ahead of the festival.
Jeremy Strong
The Succession alum looked chic sporting gray while posing for photogs.
Halle Berry
The Oscar winner waved to fans while rocking a gorgeous frilled ensemble ahead of the film festival.
Irina Shayk
The model posed with fans while out and about in the French city.
Andie MacDowell
The Groundhog Day actress was a vision in black when arriving in France.
