Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970 in
Davenport, Iowa) is an American actress who was raised in Chicago, Illinois and
Wisconsin. Although she is of mostly Irish descent,
Boyle also has an Italian-American great-grandfather. [1] She is named for a character in the
book and movie Dr. Zhivago.[1] She is also dyslexic[2].
Career
Boyle's first film role was a bit part in Ferris Bueller's Day Off
(1986), which earned her a SAG card, though her scene
was eliminated from the final cut of the film. She then appeared in series Amerika (1987), Poltergeist III (1988) and Dead Poets Society (1989), before landing her first major part, and
the role which made her well known, playing 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 sexually assured drama queen in the cult classic Generation X comedy
Threesome (1994)
- flighty, manically repressed housewife Marianne Byron in Afterglow
(1997)
Finally, in 1997, Boyle auditioned for the title role in David
E. Kelley's Ally McBeal. Although she lost out to Calista Flockhart, Boyle impressed him enough to create the role of Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in his other 1997 series, The Practice, specifically for her. She starred on the show until 2003,
when - in a dramatic attempt to revamp the show and cut costs - she was unceremoniously dismissed along with most of the other
main cast. The role of Helen earned her an Emmy nomination, as well as household fame and
several Screen Actors Guild ensemble cast nominations. She also made a crossover
appearance in the role of Helen in an episode of Ally McBeal.
In 2002, Boyle played a lead role in the blockbuster film Men in Black II as the villainous alien Serleena. She
also guest starred on one of the last episodes of Ally McBeal once again, only 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, a new hotel owner.
She played Barbara Amiel in the TV-movie "Shades of Black", about Amiel's husband
Conrad Black.
Personal life
Boyle has dated actors Jack Nicholson, Richard
Dean Anderson, Kyle MacLachlan, David Spade,
and Eric Dane. She has a tattoo on her back from then-boyfriend Jay Penske. In high school, she dated interface designer Eduardo Sciammarella.
She has been married twice. Her first husband was John Patrick Dee III, whom she married on 11
August 1996 and divorced two years later. Her second and current husband is Donald Ray
Thomas II, a real-estate investor, whom she married on December 18, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas.
Boyle's home in Beverly Hills was built in the 1920s as servants' quarters for Pickfair, the
home of actress Mary Pickford.[3]
Selected filmography
References
- ^ Jamie Diamond, "Tough Cookie, Snug Retreat: At Home with Lara Flynn Boyle",
The New York Times, 27 July 2002, page F6
- ^ Jamie Diamond, "Tough Cookie, Snug Retreat: At Home with Lara Flynn Boyle",
The New York Times, 27 July 2002, page F6
- ^ Jamie Diamond, "Tough Cookie, Snug Retreat: At Home with Lara Flynn Boyle",
The New York Times, 27 July 2002, page F1
External links
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