She made her directorial debut in 2019, directing the adult film Her & Him, which garnered positive reviews and won a Pornhub Visionary Award.

[14] In September 2017, Thorne revealed that she had lived in a suburban area, spoke Spanish as her first language, and that she was bullied while growing up because she was dyslexic.

[22] In 2008, Thorne starred alongside Christian Slater and Taylor Lautner in the short-lived drama series My Own Worst Enemy, for which she won a Young Artist Award for her portrayal of the character Ruthy Spivey; Thorne described her Enemy casting as a major breakthrough as this was the first recurring role in her career.

The same year, she starred in the third-last episode of October Road as Angela Ferilli, the pre-adolescence crush of the main characters.

[27] The multi-camera series began production in Hollywood, California, in July 2010 and premiered on November 7, 2010, on Disney Channel.

[40][41] In 2013, it was reported that Thorne had signed a new deal to write a series of books, beginning with her first novel, Autumn Falls.

[43] She also co-starred in the films Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) and The DUFF (2015), playing high school antagonists.

[47] On October 15, Thorne revealed her debut album was canceled, saying she wasn't happy with the "auto-tuned bad music" she had in the works.

The film was scheduled to be released on video on demand and on DVD beginning on June 30, 2015, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

[57] On June 1, 2015, it was announced that Thorne would star in the AwesomenessTV film Shovel Buddies, playing the role of Kate.

[61] In 2017, Thorne went back to television with a drama series Famous in Love, airing on Freeform, in which she played Paige Townsen, an ordinary college student who gets her big break after auditioning for the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster.

In March 2017, Thorne joined the cast of the black comedy film, Assassination Nation, which was released in theaters on September 21, 2018.

[62] In the same year, Thorne starred in the Netflix original film, You Get Me and made an appearance on Prince Fox's single "Just Call".

[65] Thorne starred in the romantic drama Midnight Sun, based on the 2006 Japanese film of the same name and released on March 23, 2018.

She also contributed five songs to the soundtrack, including the lead single "Burn So Bright" and fan favorite "Walk With Me".

In August 2018, it was revealed that her record label has a partnership deal with Epic/Sony and she began work on her debut studio album titled What Do You See Now?.

In her acceptance speech, Thorne revealed a partnership with Pornhub to implement a change in the company's flagging algorithm.

[70][71][72] She received praise for her performance, with critic Nick Allen states that she had "the classically great presence of someone like Sandra Bullock, but with her own scraggly edge ... Thorne dominates numerous scenes that catapult her character from clout-hungry wannabe to gun-selfie superstar.

In the same month she also starred in the action comedy film Chick Fight alongside Malin Akerman and directed by Paul Leyden,[82] In 2021, Thorne played Lily in season 1 of Amazon Prime Video's Paradise City.

[91] Her advertising campaigns include Guess Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, J.Lo Girls, Candie's,[92] Ralph Lauren, Gap and Diesel.

She has been on the magazine covers of US's Shape, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Latina and Gay Times, UK's Company; Indonesia's Marie Claire and CosmoGirl; Canada's Elle and Mexico's Glamour and GQ.

[93] She has appeared in music videos for Liam Payne's "Bedroom Floor", Bhad Bhabie's "Trust Me", Logan Paul's "Outta My Head",[94] and Oliver Tree's "Cowboys Don't Cry".

[95] Thorne is a supporter of the Humane Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and The Nomad Organization, which provides education, food and medical supplies to children in Africa.

[6] She also joined PETA in encouraging people to boycott and protest SeaWorld, acknowledging that as a child she appeared in a commercial for the theme park.

In 2017, she dated emo rapper Lil Peep for a short period and was in a relationship with musician Blackbear in August that same year.

[108] In June 2019, Thorne had nude photos stolen by hackers who subsequently threatened her with extortion; she instead released the photographs herself.