Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)

Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.

Director:

Peter Levin

Writer:

Ronni Kern

Stars:

Thora Birch, Michael Riley, Robert Bockstael

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thora Birch	...	Liz Murray
Michael Riley	...	Peter
Robert Bockstael	...	David
Makyla Smith	...	Chris
Kelly Lynch	...	Jean Murray
Jennifer Pisana	...	Young Liz
Aron Tager	...	Pops
Ellen Page	...	Young Lisa
Marla McLean	...	Lisa
Marguerite McNeil	...	Eva
Amber Godfrey	...	Dawn
Seamus Morrison	...	Bobby
John Fulton	...	Old Irish Cop
Rejean Cournoyer	...	Young Irish Cop
Mauralea Austin	...	Miss Wanda

Storyline

Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.

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Plot Keywords:

homeless teenager | character name in title

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Taglines:

When there was nothing to believe in, she believed in herself.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese Brazilian Sign Language

Release Date:

7 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abbandonata Dal Destino

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barnet Bain Films, Metafilmics, Patriarch Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The reason that Liz Murray left Harvard was so that she could be transferred to another school, which would be less expensive than Harvard (for which she was only receiving $12,000 a year with her scholarship) and also closer to her father, who is very ill will AIDs.

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Quotes

David: You're in.
Liz Murray: But you told the others you wouldn't let them know until Friday.
David: You're in.

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Connections

Features Jeopardy! (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Miracle"
Performed by Joanna Pacitti
Taken from the album "This Crazy Life"

User Reviews

Thora Birch is wonderful!

Thora Birch is Liz, a young woman who grows up in a poor household where both parents are excessive drug addicts. She's a genius but she refuses to go to school because she doesn't know how to interact with her peers (she's intellectually superior to them).

When her mother leaves to live with her sexually abusive grandfather, Liz tries to live there but runs away after an argument with him. She lives on the street, and in a group home. She stays at friends' houses from time to time. She discovers what hardship really is.

After her mother dies from AIDS (which she acquired from drug use), Liz wakes up, and realizes her potential. She also realizes that she doesn't want to be homeless anymore, and that she wants to move on to a civilized lifestyle. So she goes to school. She is in gifted classes and she finishes High School in two years. She also receives a scholarship to Harvard, from the New Yor times for an essay she wrote about overcoming obstacles to get to her success.

The movie is very inspiring one of the best Lifetime movies created. Thora Birch proves that she is one of the best younger actresses today. Her powerful performance is very much deserving of an Emmy Award.