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