Education
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she attended Bishop Strachan School, and then moved to the United Kingdom in 1965 to study acting. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on 1 July 1967.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she attended Bishop Strachan School, and then moved to the United Kingdom in 1965 to study acting. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on 1 July 1967.
Thorson is bi-dialectal, speaking in her native Canadian accent when she is in North America, and an English accent when she is in the United Kingdom. Thorson is best known for her role as Tara King (succeeding Diana Rigg as Emma Peel) in the last season of the British television adventure series, The Avengers, with the original star Patrick Macnee. She was reunited with Macnee in a commercial for Laurent-Perrier champagne in the mid 1970s which led to the series reappearing as The New Avengers, although Thorson did not regain her role.
Since then, she appeared in character roles in many television series and films, including Thriller, Return of the Saint, Valentino, The Greek Tycoon, the cult horror film Curtains, Blind Justice, Alan Alda"s Sweet Liberty, and Marblehead Manor.
She appeared from 1989 to 1992 in the daytime drama One Life to Live as Julia Wheaton Medina. She also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing female Cardassian starship commander Gul Ocett in the 6th season episode "The Chase" (1993).
From 1998-2000, she played Isabel in the Canadian series Emily of New Moon. In 2002, she portrayed a Supreme Court Justice in the movie Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal and Ja Rule, and appeared in the 2006 action sequel Max Havoc: Ring of Fire.
Throughout 2006-2007, Thorson played the villainous Rosemary King in the Independent Television series Emmerdale.
Thorson has performed in many dramatic and musical stage productions, including appearances on Broadway in Nell Dunn"s Steaming and Michael Frayn"s Noises Office!. In 1971, she starred alongside Michael Crawford and Anthony Valentine in the London West End hit show Number Sex Please, We"re British and later appeared as Titania in A Midsummer Night"s Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park, London. She also played Hester Salomon in a United Kingdom tour of Equus opposite Simon Callow.
In the summer of 2008, she appeared at the Open Air Theatre, Regent"s Park in the Lerner & Loewe musical, Gigi.
In 2013, Thorson appeared onstage in Tracy Lett"s play August: Osage County about a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma. In 2014, she is slated to appear in Jon Robin Baitz"s play Other Desert Cities.
In 2013, Thorson produced a new stage play called The Goodbye Bird written by Colleen Murphy.