| Lara Flynn Boyle | |
|---|---|
At the 1990 Emmy Awards. |
|
| Born | March 24, 1970 Davenport, Iowa, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Donald Ray Thomas (2006-present) John Patrick Dee III (1996-1998) (divorced) |
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 1980s through the present but has found the most recognition through her roles in television series.
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Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Sally Boyle, a clerical worker, assistant, and manager.[1] She is of mostly Irish descent, and also has an Italian-American great-grandfather.[2] She is named after a character in Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago.[3] 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 summer blockbuster Poltergeist III (1988) opposite Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt. Although she was cast in Dead Poets Society (1989), 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.
Some of Boyle's most notable roles during the 1990s were:
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 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, and an uncredited guest appearance on the same show 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. 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 dated confirmed bachelor Jack Nicholson. They went public with their romance at the 1999 Emmys, and remained together through the end of 2000.[4]
Boyle 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.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | Scenes deleted | |
| 1988 | Poltergeist III | Donna Gardner | |
| 1989 | Terror on Highway 91 | Laura Taggart | TV movie |
| 1989 | How I Got Into College | Jessica Kailo | |
| 1989 | Dead Poets Society | Ginny Danburry | Scenes deleted |
| 1989 | The Preppie Murder | Jennifer Levin | TV movie |
| 1990 | The Rookie | Sarah | |
| 1991 | The Dark Backward | Rosarita | |
| 1991 | Mobsters | Mara Motes | |
| 1991 | Eye of the Storm | Sandra Gladstone | |
| 1991 | May Wine | Cammie | TV movie |
| 1992 | Where the Day Takes You | Heather | |
| 1992 | Wayne's World | Stacy | |
| 1992 | Equinox | Beverly Franks | |
| 1993 | The Temp | Kris Bolin | |
| 1993 | Red Rock West | Suzanne Brown/Ann McCord | |
| 1994 | Threesome | Alex | |
| 1994 | Past Tense | Tory Bass/Sabrina James | TV movie |
| 1994 | Baby's Day Out | Laraine Cotwell | |
| 1994 | The Road to Wellville | Ida Muntz | |
| 1994 | Jacob | Rachel | TV movie |
| 1995 | Cafe Society | Pat Ward | |
| 1996 | The Big Squeeze | Tanya Mulhill | |
| 1997 | Red Meat | Ruth | |
| 1997 | Farmer & Chase | Hillary | |
| 1997 | Afterglow | Marianne Byron | |
| 1998 | Since You've Been Gone | Grace Williams | TV movie |
| 1998 | Happiness | Helen Jordan | |
| 1998 | Susan's Plan | Betty Johnson | |
| 2000 | Chain of Fools | Karen | |
| 2002 | Men in Black II | Serleena | |
| 2003 | Speaking of Sex | Dr. Emily Paige | |
| 2006 | Land of the Blind | First Lady | |
| 2006 | Fwiends.com | Yuppy girl | Short film |
| 2006 | The House Next Door | Col Kennedy | TV movie |
| 2006 | Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story | Barbara Amiel | TV movie |
| 2007 | Have Dreams, Will Travel | Mrs. Reynolds | |
| 2009 | Baby on Board | Mary | |
| 2009 | Life Is Hot in Cracktown | Betty McBain | |
| 2010 | Cougar Hunting | Kathy |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Amerika | Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford | TV miniseres |
| 1987 | Sable | Melanie Waterston | 1 episode: "Toy Gun" |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Donna Hayward | 2 seasons: 30 episodes |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Nicole | 1 episode: "Splinters of Privacy" |
| 1995 | Legend | Theresa Dunleavy | 1 episode: "Skeletons in the Closet" |
| 1997–2003 | The Practice | Helen Gamble | 6 seasons: 132 episodes |
| 2002 | Ally McBeal | Tally Cupp | 1 episode: "Tom Dooley" |
| 2004–2005 | Huff | Melody Coatar | 1 season |
| 2005–2006 | Las Vegas | Monica Mancuso | 1 season |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Dawn Talley | 1 episode: "Submission" |