| Lisa Ann Walter | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 3, 1963 Silver Spring, MD, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, comedienne, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Sam Baum (?-1999) |
| Children | 4 |
Lisa Ann Walter (born August 3, 1963)[1] is an American actress, comedienne, writer and film producer. She has appeared in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds as Cheryl. Walter also created and starred in the short-lived 1996-1997 sitcom, Life's Work. She was a judge on ABC's reality television series The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?. She also won for her charity in a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link.
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Walter was born and raised in suburban Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., where she remembers "always liking to show off" as a child. She was a high-achieving student and always the class clown. Walter's father worked at NASA and indulged his own love of performing after-hours in local community theater. Her mother was a teacher, later working at the local courthouse. Her parents, both native New Yorkers, divorced when Walter was in elementary school. She attended Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland, finally studying drama at the Catholic University of America under the tutelage of the renowned Father Gilbert Hartke. She began appearing in various regional and dinner theater productions, and met her future spouse, Sam Baum, while performing in "A Streetcar Named Desire". They married before moving to New York, where both began various "day jobs" while raising their baby, shoehorning in frequent auditions and roles various off-Broadway venues. Walter performed at amateur night contests at some of the noted comedy clubs, and soon had audiences roaring with her dead-on perspectives on kids, domestic life and social issues.
After five years of standup comedy, she was cast to star in her own Fox Network comedy series, My Wildest Dreams, followed by an ABC sitcom, Life's Work, which she both created and starred in. Walter also co-starred in the critically acclaimed Bravo series Breaking News and in the NBC sitcom Emeril.
On the feature side, in addition to Bruce Almighty (2003) and Shall We Dance (2004), Walter received rave reviews co-starring in the hit Disney film The Parent Trap (1998). In the remake of the original classic, she appeared as the nanny to Dennis Quaid's daughter, who was played by a young Lindsay Lohan. Prior to that, Walter played Whoopi Goldberg's tarty sidekick Claudine in Eddie (1996).
In early 2007, Walter had a supporting role as Mabel the bartender in the MyNetworkTV soap opera Watch Over Me. That summer, she served as a judge on the ABC reality TV show The Next Best Thing, which searched for the best celebrity impersonators in America.
In the Spring of 2008, Walter was seen in the comedy film Drillbit Taylor, and also starred on the VH1 reality series Celebracadabra, in which celebrities competed to see who was the best magician among them. She made it to the final three but was eliminated in the sixth episode. She has developed a series for the Oxygen network called Dance Your Ass Off. Her comic memoir, "The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me" is being published in May, 2011.
On May 18, 2011 Los Angeles talk radio station KFI announced that Walter would be assuming the 4pm-7pm slot on Saturdays and Sundays. She now hosts the weekly "Fabulous Lisa Ann Walter Show".
Walter resides in Los Angeles with her four children, including son Jordan, daughter Delia, and twin boys Simon and Spencer. "I was taught a strong work ethic by my parents, and I'm not happy unless I'm doing two - or even three -- things at once," says Walter. "I enjoy working and raising a family, and I wouldn't want to do one without the other." While she is developing enough material for a return to standup comedy, Walter loves gourmet cooking, reading biographies, dancing and blues music.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | My Wildest Dreams | Lisa McGinnis | 5 episodes |
| 1996 | Eddie | Claudine | |
| 1996–1997 | Life's Work | Lisa Ann Hunter | 18 episodes |
| 1997 | Late Bloomer | Cassie Baltic | |
| 1998 | The Parent Trap | Chessy | |
| 1998 | Love Boat: The Next Wave | Audrey Cranston | Episode: "How Long Has This Been Going On?" |
| 2000 | Get Your Stuff | Principal Perry | |
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Nurse | Episode: "Interior Decorator" |
| 2000-2001 | Emeril | Cassandra Gilman | 11 episodes |
| 2001 | Early Bird Special | Janet | |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Rita Harper | Episode: "Hot Flash" |
| 2002 | Breaking News | Rachel Glass | TV series |
| 2003 | Farm Sluts | Sexy Feminist Executive | Short film |
| 2003 | Bruce Almighty | Debbie | |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Rose Gluck | Episode: "Sons and Lovers" |
| 2004 | Shall We Dance | Bobbie | |
| 2005 | War of the Worlds | Cheryl | |
| 2005 | The Trouble with Dee Dee | Dee Dee Rutherford | |
| 2006 | Man vs. Monday | Joan | Short film |
| 2006 | Modern Men | Iris | Episode: "Kyle Dates Up" |
| 2006 | Coffee Date | Sara | |
| 2006 | Room 6 | Sgt. Burch | |
| 2006 | Nip/Tuck | Mrs. Hickock | Episode: "Reefer" |
| 2006 | Watch Over Me | Mabel | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Graduation | Carol | |
| 2007 | Entry Level | Kathie | |
| 2008 | Drillbit Taylor | Dolores | |
| 2010 | Wreckage | Doctor Richardson | |
| 2010 | Monsters Under the Bed | Leslie Branson | Short film |
| 2010 | Killers | Olivia Brooks | |
| 2011 | Wish Wizard | Helga | |
| 2011 | Wedding Day | Chef Cherie | Post-production |