Jane Burnham

Jane Burnham is a fictional character appearing in the 1999 film American Beauty. She is portrayed by Thora Birch.
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== Biography ==
She is a high school student and the daughter of Lester Burnham and Carolyn Burnham. The teenage girl has a troubling relationship with her parents, seemingly growing distant due to puberty, loneliness, and insecurities. Her only friend is Angela Hayes, a popular girl who likes to brag about her physical looks to other students and Jane. She is uncomfortable with her breasts which led to her saving up the money she made from her babysitting job for plastic surgery.
== Personality ==
Jane is an anxious and quiet individual who tends to follow the lead of others. She attempts to blend in with the popular crowd, including her friend Angela. She is cold towards her parents and shows no affection.
== Insecurities and love ==
Jane is introduced as insecure early in the movie, taking into consideration getting plastic surgery on her chest. She takes issue with the way she looks and seems to be jealous of her friend Angela Hayes who she often spends time with at school and outside of it. Angela frequently tells her about the attention she gets from men and how much sexual experience she already has. Even Jane's father, Lester Burnham, is captivated by the beauty of her friend. It becomes clear that Jane admires the kind of attention Angela receives because she is ignored by boys her age and others for not being conventionally attractive. She often wears baggy clothes, dark makeup, and her dyed dark hair in a ponytail. Even when hanging out with Angela, Hayes's beauty is regularly discussed while her own is disregarded. After smoking weed with Angela she first notices her neighbor Ricky Fitts who is standing outside on the porch filming her. Weirded out by the encounter she flips him off and enters her home. Inside though, she shows excitement for getting the attention of the boy next door. Even after the odd behavior of Fitts, including more, filming and setting up things in her backyard to impress the girl, Jane's interest in him grows and they eventually bond over their "outcast image" and their family issues.
== Relationship to her parents ==
Jane's relationship with her parents is distant. At the dinner table, she rarely initiates conversation and is cold. They all seem to grow apart, though it's not an abusive or toxic environment. Jane just doesn't identify herself with her parents and she lacks their attention. Her mother is strict and her father is self-centered and only talks to her if it benefits him. She is embarrassed about her father's sexual attraction toward her best friend and has no bond with her mother as well.
==Appearances==
*American Beauty (1999)
Category:Characters
Category:Female characters
Category:American Beauty characters
Category:Characters portrayed by Thora Birch