Tami Stronach

Tami Stronach was born in 1972 in Tehran

Tami Stronach was born on July 31, 1972, in Tehran. Her father, David Stronach, was a Scottish archaeologist, and her mother, Ruth Vaadia, was an Israeli archaeologist. During the Iranian Revolution the family left Iran, lived briefly in Israel and in the United Kingdom, and settled in Berkeley, California in 1981, where her father taught at the University of California.

As a child she studied musical theatre in Berkeley. While playing Piglet in a stage version of Winnie-the-Pooh, she was asked to audition for The NeverEnding Story and won the role of the Childlike Empress after three auditions. During the film's promotion in Germany she sang on television and then recorded songs and a music video.

After the film's success, the family faced unwanted attention, and her mother turned down a sequel contract. Stronach turned to dance and studied it in New York City, and in 1996 she began dancing with Neta Pulvermacher and Dancers. She also presented her own dance works.

She returned to acting in 2002 with a physical theatre company and co-founded Shoehorn Theater. With her husband Greg Steinbruner she created The Paper Canoe Company and made the fantasy film Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps, in which she plays the Witch. The film was released in 2024. She also became a professor in New York City.