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Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24,
1970) is an American film and television actress best known for her
performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and
Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice. She has had a
number of movie roles from the late '80s through the present but has found
the most recognition through her roles in television series.
Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Sally Boyle, a clerical
worker, assistant, and manager. Although she is of mostly Roman Catholic
Irish descent, Boyle also has an Italian-American great-grandfather. She
is named after a character in Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago. She was
raised in Chicago, Illinois and Wisconsin. Boyle studied at and graduated
from The Chicago Academy for the Arts.
Boyle's first film role was a bit part in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986),
which earned her a SAG card, though her scenes were deleted from the final
cut of the film. She then appeared in the mini-series Amerika (1987) and
films Poltergeist III (1988) and Dead Poets Society (1989) from which her
scenes were deleted, before landing her first major part, that of Donna
Hayward in the critically acclaimed series Twin Peaks. When the series
ended in 1991, creator David Lynch produced a movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk
with Me, but—largely due to her rise in fame and increased film
offers—Boyle chose not to return. Moira Kelly took over the role of Donna
for the film.
Boyle spent much of the 1990s making a name for herself in films with
varying degrees of success. Some of her most notable roles during that
time were:
the obsessive and accident-prone Stacy in Wayne's World (1992)
the fragile, homeless teen Heather in Where The Day Takes You (1992)
psycho secretary-from-hell Kris Bolin in what was geared to be her
breakout success, but ultimately became a box-office bust, The Temp (1993)
the sultry and manipulative Suzanne of Red Rock West (1993), which
solidified her status as a premier femme fatale
Alex, the promiscuous beauty in the comedy Threesome (1994)
flighty, manically repressed housewife Marianne Byron in Afterglow (1997)
In 1997, Boyle auditioned for the title role in David E. Kelley's Ally
McBeal. Although she lost out to Calista Flockhart, the actress impressed
Kelley enough to create the role of Assistant District Attorney Helen
Gamble in his other 1997 series, The Practice, specifically for her. She
starred on that show until 2003, when - in a dramatic attempt to revamp
the show and cut costs - she was unceremoniously dismissed along with most
of the cast. The role of Helen earned her an Emmy nomination, as well as
several Screen Actors Guild ensemble cast nominations. Boyle also made a
crossover appearance in the role of Helen in an episode of Ally McBeal,
the show she originally was not cast for. She also did make another
uncredited guest appearance on Ally McBeal in its final season.
In 2002, Boyle played a lead role in the blockbuster film Men in Black II
as the villainous shapeshifting alien Serleena. She also guest-starred on
one of the last episodes of Ally McBeal, this time as Tally Cupp, a
completely different role from that which she had played before. Recently,
she had a recurring role on several episodes of Huff, playing Melody
Coatar, an unstable patient with borderline personality disorder and
bipolar disorder.
In 2005, Boyle joined the cast of Las Vegas for a seven-episode stint as
Monica Mancuso, a new hotel owner. She played Barbara Amiel in the TV true
story "Shades of Black", about Amiel's controversial husband, Lord Conrad
Black. Boyle also guest-starred as an ambitious reporter involved with the
suspects in a possible murder in the Law & Order 2008 episode
"Submission".
Boyle has dated actors Harrison Ford, Richard Dean Anderson, Kyle
MacLachlan, David Spade, Jack Nicholson, and Eric Dane. She has a tattoo
on her back from then-boyfriend Jay Penske. She is dyslexic.
She has been married twice. Her first husband was John Patrick Dee III,
whom she married on August 11, 1996 and divorced two years later. Her
current husband is Donald Ray Thomas II, a real-estate investor, whom she
married on December 18, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. She has two
half-brothers, Ethan and Mike Boyle. Mike Boyle is currently a musician in
the band "The Howabouts" - a Chicago Indie/Pop band.
(myspace.com/thehowaboutsmusic)
Boyle's home in Beverly Hills was built in the 1920s as servants' quarters
for Pickfair, the former home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. |
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(On what happened when she
started out in the film business) "When I used to go to auditions, I
would be told "If Winona Ryder doesn't get it, you will". Hollywood
makes so many movies - surely Winona can't do ALL of them!"
"Look, I love being famous. I'm not one of those people who feels
like, Why won't they leave me alone? If I care only about the craft
of acting, I'd be doing dinner theater in Iowa. But the attention on
you gets to a point where it's beyond invasive - it's scary." Cosmo
Magazine, April 2005 Issue
"I'm Irish Catholic, so a Democrat by blood. But I'm one hundred per
cent for Bush. I want my president to be like my agent - not afraid
of people, but wants my best interest."
Coffee and smoking are the last great addictions.
I had such a great mom and I know that I'd never be that mom. I
wouldn't want to bring a child into this world unless I could be. |
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Deauville (2010) .... Madame
Doris
Cougar Hunting (2010) .... Kathy
Life Is Hot in Cracktown (2009) .... Betty McBain
Baby on Board (2009) (as Laura Flynn Boyle) .... Mary Radcliffe
"Law & Order" .... Dawn Talley (1 episode, 2008)
... aka Law & Order Prime (USA: informal title)
- Submission (2008) TV episode .... Dawn Talley
Have Dreams, Will Travel (2007) .... Ben's Mother
... aka A West Texas Children's Story (USA: new title)
... aka West Texas Lullaby (USA: new title)
"Insatiable" (2007) TV series (unknown episodes)
Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story (2006) (TV) .... Barbara
Amiel
The House Next Door (2006) (TV) .... Col Kennedy
Fwiends.com (2006) .... Yuppy Girl
Land of the Blind (2006) .... First Lady
"Las Vegas" .... Monica Mancuso (8 episodes, 2005-2006)
- And Here's Mike with the Weather (2006) TV episode .... Monica
Mancuso
- Mothwoman (2005) TV episode .... Monica Mancuso
- Bold, Beautiful & Blue (2005) TV episode .... Monica Mancuso
- The Real McCoy (2005) TV episode .... Monica Mancuso
- Whatever Happened to Seymour Magoon? (2005) TV episode .... Monica
Mancuso
(3 more)
"Huff" .... Melody Coatar (5 episodes, 2004-2005)
- Crazy Nutz & All Fucked Up (2005) TV episode .... Melody Coatar
- That Fucking Cabin (2004) TV episode .... Melody Coatar
- Flashpants (2004) TV episode .... Melody Coatar
- Control (2004) TV episode .... Melody Coatar
- Assault & Pepper (2004) TV episode .... Melody Coatar
Crazy (2005) (TV) .... Sophie
"The Practice" .... Helen Gamble (132 episodes, 1997-2003)
- Baby Love (2003) TV episode (credit only) .... Helen Gamble
- Goodbye (2003) TV episode .... Helen Gamble
- Heroes and Villains (2003) TV episode .... Helen Gamble
- Les Is More (2003) TV episode .... Helen Gamble
- Capitol Crimes (2003) TV episode .... Helen Gamble
(127 more)
Men in Black II (2002) .... Serleena
... aka MIB 2 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka MIIB (USA: promotional abbreviation)
"Ally McBeal" .... Helen Gamble / ... (2 episodes, 1998-2002)
- Tom Dooley (2002) TV episode (uncredited) .... Tally Cupp
- Making Spirits Bright (1998) TV episode (uncredited) .... Helen
Gamble
Speaking of Sex (2001) .... Dr. Emily Paige
Chain of Fools (2000) .... Karen
Susan's Plan (1998) .... Betty Johnson
... aka Dying to Get Rich (USA: video title)
... aka Dying to Get Rich! ...Susan's Plan (USA: DVD title)
Happiness (1998) .... Helen Jordan
Since You've Been Gone (1998) (TV) .... Grace Williams
... aka Ten Years Later (Australia)
Afterglow (1997) .... Marianne Byron
Farmer & Chase (1997) .... Hillary
Red Meat (1997) .... Ruth
The Big Squeeze (1996) .... Tanya Mulhill
... aka Body of a Woman
"Legend" .... Theresa Dunleavy (1 episode, 1995)
- Skeletons in the Closet (1995) TV episode (uncredited) ....
Theresa Dunleavy
Cafe Society (1995) .... Pat Ward
Jacob (1994) (TV) .... Rachel
... aka Die Bibel - Jakob (Germany)
... aka Jacob: A TNT Bible Story (USA: promotional title)
The Road to Wellville (1994) .... Ida Muntz
Baby's Day Out (1994) .... Laraine Cotwell
Past Tense (1994) (TV) .... Tory Bass/Sabrina James
Threesome (1994) .... Alex
Red Rock West (1993) .... Suzanne Brown/Ann McCord
The Temp (1993) .... Kris Bolin
Equinox (1992) .... Beverly Franks
... aka Isimeria
Wayne's World (1992) .... Stacy
Where the Day Takes You (1992) .... Heather
Eye of the Storm (1991) .... Sandra Gladstone
"The Hidden Room" .... Nicole (1 episode, 1991)
- Splinters of Privacy (1991) TV episode .... Nicole
Mobsters (1991) .... Mara Motes
... aka The Evil Empire
"Twin Peaks" .... Donna Hayward (30 episodes, 1990-1991)
- Episode #2.21 (1991) TV episode .... Donna Hayward
- Episode #2.22 (1991) TV episode .... Donna Hayward
- Episode #2.20 (1991) TV episode .... Donna Hayward
- Episode #2.19 (1991) TV episode .... Donna Hayward
- Episode #2.18 (1991) TV episode .... Donna Hayward
(25 more)
The Dark Backward (1991) .... Rosarita
... aka The Man with Three Arms (UK)
The Rookie (1990) .... Sarah
Les belles Américaines (1990) (TV) .... Cammie
... aka May Wine (USA)
The Preppie Murder (1989) (TV) .... Jennifer Levin
Dead Poets Society (1989) (scenes deleted) .... Ginny Danburry
How I Got Into College (1989) .... Jessica Kailo
Terror on Highway 91 (1989) (TV) .... Laura Taggart
Poltergeist III (1988) .... Donna Gardner
... aka Poltergeist III: The Final Chapter (Australia)
"Sable" .... Melanie Waterston (1 episode, 1987)
- Toy Gun (1987) TV episode .... Melanie Waterston
"Amerika" (1987) TV mini-series .... Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford |
