Mika Sue Boorem (; born August 18, 1987) is an American actress and filmmaker. She began her career as a child actress, appearing on television in small guest roles on Touched by an Angel and Ally McBeal, before earning critical acclaim for her performance in The Education of Little Tree (1997). After being cast in supporting roles in Jack Frost and Mighty Joe Young (both 1998), Boorem had a lead role in the drama Hearts in Atlantis (2001), opposite Anton Yelchin and Anthony Hopkins, which garnered her further critical acclaim.
Boorem also had prominent supporting roles in the war drama The Patriot (2000) and the thriller Along Came a Spider (2001). She went on to star in numerous teen films in the early-to-mid 2000s, including the surf film Blue Crush (2002), the comedy Sleepover (2004), and the drama Augusta, Gone (2006). Boorem was a recurring guest star on the network series Dawson's Creek in 2002 and 2003. She had a central role in John Carpenter's horror film The Ward (2010), followed by roles in several independent films.
Boorem made her feature film directorial debut with Hollywood.Con (2021), starring Tom Arnold and Brian Krause.
Life and career
Early life
Boorem was born on August 18, 1987, at Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital in Tucson, Arizona, to Holly (née Thomas) and Benjamin Boorem. She has one older brother, Benjamin Jr. Her father is a gemologist. She began acting in local theater in Arizona, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles with her family, where she attended Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-English bilingual school.
Work as a child actress
After appearing as herself in the direct-to-video of Disney Sing-Along Songs called Beach Party at Walt Disney World in 1995, Boorem had her first televised role in 1996 as a guest on the series Touched by an Angel. That was followed by a supporting part in The Education of Little Tree (1997), based on the controversial memoir of the same name by Forrest Carter. David Noh of Film Journal International deemed her performance as a young friend of the titular Cherokee character "delightful." For her performance, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award. The same year, Boorem had a guest role playing the young Ally McBeal in the 1997 pilot episode. She also had a supporting role in A Walton Easter, a television film spin-off from The Waltons, which aired in the spring of 1997. She subsequently had a supporting role in the Christmas film Jack Frost (1998) starring Michael Keaton, for which she was nominated for a YoungStar Award for Best Actress in a Drama Film.
She then had a part in Disney's live-action film Mighty Joe Young (1998), playing the young counterpart of Charlize Theron's character. She appeared on television again as a main cast member of the comedy series The Tom Show, which aired for one season between 1997 and 1998; in the series, she portrayed the daughter of a television producer, played by Tom Arnold. In late 1999, Boorem had a supporting role in the ensemble drama Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, opposite Glenn Close and Cameron Diaz.
Also in 2000, Boorem had a central role in the Revolutionary War historical drama The Patriot (2000), playing the daughter of a soldier (portrayed by Mel Gibson). For her performance, she was nominated for her third Young Artist Award as part of an ensemble cast. She subsequently appeared opposite Morgan Freeman and Anton Yelchin in the thriller Along Came a Spider (2001), playing the kidnapped daughter of a United States Senator. The following year, she was again cast opposite Yelchin with a lead in the drama Hearts in Atlantis (2001), playing a young girl who has mysterious interactions with an elderly man (played by Anthony Hopkins) in her community. A supporting role in Penny Marshall's period drama Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) followed, and a part as the younger sister of Kate Bosworth in the surf film Blue Crush (2002). In 2003, she had a supporting role opposite Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine in the romantic comedy Carolina. Between 2002 and 2003, Boorem had a recurring guest role on the sixth season of the series Dawson's Creek, portraying Harley Hetson. For her role, she earned a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice TV Sidekick.
Transition to teen and adult roles
In 2004, Boorem starred opposite Alexa Vega in the teen comedy Sleepover, followed by a supporting part in the dance film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). In the independent drama Smile (2005), Boorem portrayed a teenager from Malibu who befriends a young Chinese woman with a facial deformity, played by Yi Ding. Critic Justin Chang of Variety deemed the film a "well-meaning but dramatically lopsided tearjerker."