Tami Stronach (born summer 1972) is an actress, dancer, filmmaker, and professor. A childhood performance as the Childlike Empress in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story led to a record deal and music video in Germany. Inappropriate attention to the young star led her to eschew acting, and instead focused on dancing. As an adult, she has branched into teaching, producing dance performances, filmmaking, and supporting child performers. Personal life Tami Stronach was born in summer 1972 in the Imperial State of Iran. Her parents were the archaeologists David Stronach from Scotland (1931–2020) and Ruth Stronach from Israel (; 1937–2017). Stronach, her sister Keren, and their parents fled the Iranian Revolution to Tel Aviv before moving to the United Kingdom and then to California in 1981 to allow David to teach at the University of California, Berkeley. By late 2014, Stronach and her daughter Maya (born ) lived in Brooklyn; Stronach was married to Greg Steinbruner as of mid-2020. Performance career In addition to her artistic projects, Stronach also followed in her father's footsteps, becoming a professor in New York City. Acting As a child, Stronach studied musical theatre. While portraying Piglet in a San Francisco stage adaptation of Winnie-the-Pooh, she was approached by the casting director for The NeverEnding Story and asked to audition for the role of the Childlike Empress. After three auditions, Stronach beat Heather O'Rourke to star in the 1984 film; it has been her only major motion picture. Ruth Stronach lived with her daughter in Bavaria for the three-month film shoot, and afterwards declined a sequel contract for her daughter, worried about lacking the wherewithal to "help her daughter navigate the turbulent waters of childhood stardom in the film industry." After NeverEnding Story became a sensational success, the Stronachs were besieged with unwanted attention: their home and telephone were stalked, adults proposed to the eleven-year-old with engagement rings, and she received "offers from Hollywood to play roles featuring scenes (with nudity) completely inappropriate for someone her age." Stronach returned to acting in 2002 with a physical theatre company, and by 2006 had performed in Chambre at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and was continuing to study acting with Laura Esterman. Singing During the junket for The NeverEnding Story, Stronach appeared on a German talk show and was asked how much German she had learned; after explaining she only knew the lyrics to "99 Luftballons", she