Actress. Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, the youngest child of Mary and James Henry Hird, an actress and theatre manager. Thora made her stage debut at eight weeks when she was used as a prop by her mother in a performance. After leaving school, she worked for 10 years at a Co-op Store by day and trained as an actress with her father after which, she he joined the Royalty Repertory Theatre. She was spotted by popular entertainer, George Formby in 1939, and was put under contract with Ealing Studios, where she appeared in several films beginning with a wartime propaganda piece, 'Went the Day Well?' (1942), and the comedy 'Black Sheep of Whitehall' (1942). In the 1950s, she moved to the Rank Organisation and there became established as popular character actress, appearing in more than a score of films such as 'Time, Gentlemen, Please!' (1952); 'Don't Blame the Stork' (1954); 'Women Without Men (1956); and 'Further Up the Creek' (1958). By the 1960s she appeared in far more television, landing recurring roles in programs such as 'Jackanory,' 'Meet the Wife,' 'The First Lady,' and 'Ours is a Nice House.' She starred in a succession of popular television programs throughout the 1970s and 1980s including 'Me, I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf,' 'Flesh and Blood,' 'Hallelujah!' 'In Loving Memory,' and 'The Tailor of Gloucester.' In 1987, she starred in a Talking Heads program, performing the monologue, 'A Creamcracker Under the Settee' for which she won a BAFTA. For many years, she also worked in radio hosting the BBC1 religious program, 'Your Songs Of Praise Choice' which became 'Praise Be!' in 1981. She was awarded the OBE in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honors List, and the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honors List. Continuing to perform through out her eighties, she appeared in guest roles on such series as 'Under the Hammer,' 'Dinnerladies,' 'Talking Heads 2,' for which she earned a BAFTA, and 'The Queen's Nose,' In 1998 she was presented with the British Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. She won a third BAFTA and the Royal Television Society Best Actress Award for the 1999 television movie, 'Lost for Words.' Her last film work was as Edie in the 2003 season of the series, 'Last of the Summer Wine,' in which she'd been appearing since 1986. She succumbed to a stroke at age 91. A memorial service held at Westminster Abbey was attended by more than 2,000 people.