Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mara Tolene Thorsen |
| Birth | Mid-1970s (sources vary: 1976 or 1977) |
| Parents | Margaret O’Brien (mother), Roy Thorsen (father; reported deceased in 2018) |
| Education | University of California, Santa Barbara — noted as a prize recipient in 1998 |
| Professional credential | Ph.D.; licensed psychologist (California) — NPI enumeration 2011 |
| Practice locations (public listings) | Los Angeles area; past listings include Camarillo / Culver City |
| Areas of practice | Adult therapy, anxiety, grief/transition, general psychotherapy |
| Public presence | Professional directories and a modest social media profile (Instagram described as “Wifey. Mommy.”) |
| Net worth | No reliable public estimate available |
A personal lens: why this story pulled me in
I’ll admit—the first time I stumbled across Mara Tolene Thorsen’s name it felt like finding a framed photograph tucked behind a stack of movie posters: familiar face, private life. Her story sits at the seam between old-Hollywood legend and modern-day professional life. On one side is Margaret O’Brien—the name that carries celluloid echoes, juvenilia, Walk-of-Fame lights—and on the other, Mara’s quieter life as a clinician: patient rooms, listening chairs, the steady work of helping people reassemble themselves. The contrast is cinematic. Think: a sepia flashback dissolving into a soothing contemporary close-up.
Roots and family — the cast and the quiet chapters
Family reads like a two-act play. Act One: Margaret O’Brien, a star whose career traces back to Hollywood’s golden age, is Mara’s mother—this is public, clear, and part of the frame that often invites curiosity. Act Two: Roy Thorsen, Mara’s father, appears in biographical notes as a life partner to Margaret and a presence in the family story; some records indicate his passing around 2018, which reshaped the family’s private landscape.
Those are the marquee names. But the real scenes are smaller: home dinners, the kind you only feel in photographs where relationships do the talking—hands on shoulders, knowing glances at a premiere, quick side-stage conversations that never make the papers. Mara, by every public trace, chose a life that blends public lineage with private vocation—one foot in legacy, one foot in a therapist’s office.
Education and early milestones: dates that matter
Numbers give shape to a life: 1998 appears as a hinge—a university prize at the University of California, Santa Barbara—suggesting a formative academic chapter and intellectual curiosity that would later become clinical rigor. The professional timeline includes an NPI enumeration in 2011, a concrete marker for when Mara is listed as an established provider. Between mid-1970s birth and those later professional dates, you can imagine decades of study, supervision hours, client sessions—steady accruals that don’t make headlines but build craft.
Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1976 / 1977 | Birth (sources vary) |
| 1998 | University of California, Santa Barbara — prize recipient |
| 2011 | NPI enumeration / professional provider listing |
| 2018 | Reported death of Roy Thorsen (father) |
Career — the work behind the byline
A Ph.D., licensure in California, and listings across professional directories paint a picture of a clinician who is serious about craft. In practice profiles you find the bread-and-butter of therapy: adult work, anxiety, grief—areas that require patience, skepticism of easy answers, and a toolkit of interventions. She’s not marketed as an influencer or a celebrity therapist; instead, her presence is clinical and steady—appointments, notes, supervision, confidentiality. That’s a kind of drama too: the private, daily high stakes of other people’s lives.
Public life vs. private life — appearances and boundaries
If you parse the public record, Mara’s public moments are mostly accompanying family events—photos at ceremonies, occasional social snapshots with her mother. There’s an Instagram persona that reads like a short stage direction: “Wifey. Mommy.”—a private identity offered in a few words. But beyond those captions, names of a spouse or children do not appear as public, verifiable facts; the online trace is respectful of family privacy. That boundary—part public pedigree, part guarded personal life—creates an intriguing counterpoint: celebrity genes do not require celebrity living.
What we don’t know—and why that matters
There’s room in any life story for the things that stay unsaid. Exact birth date, names of close family members who aren’t public figures, the granular details of private practice finances—those aren’t available in authoritative public forms, and their absence matters because it keeps the narrative human. I’m interested in the shape of things—a mid-’70s childhood, an educational arc in the late ’90s, a clinical profession cemented by 2011—not the invasive particulars. That restraint respects a person who, professionally, is dedicated to confidentiality.
FAQ
Who is Mara Tolene Thorsen?
Mara Tolene Thorsen is the daughter of actress Margaret O’Brien and Roy Thorsen, and a California-licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. who practices clinical work focused on adults.
When was she born?
Public records and biographical listings place her birth in the mid-1970s, with specific sources varying between 1976 and 1977.
What is her educational background?
She was a University of California, Santa Barbara student and was noted as a prize recipient in 1998, later completing doctoral training that culminated in licensure.
What does she do professionally?
She is a practicing psychologist in California, listed in provider directories with specialties including adult therapy, anxiety, and grief work.
Who are her immediate family members?
Her immediate family includes her mother, Margaret O’Brien, and her father, Roy Thorsen (reported deceased in 2018); public records indicate she is married and has children, but their names are not publicly listed.
Is her net worth public?
No—there are no reliable public estimates of Mara Tolene Thorsen’s net worth, and available information focuses on professional listings and public appearances rather than finances.