Lark Voorhies

Lark Voorhies
Voorhies in 2008
Born	(1974-03-25) March 25, 1974 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, spokeswoman, model
Years active	1988–present

Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway, March 25, 1974) is an American actress who rose to fame playing Lisa Turtle in Saved by the Bell, for which she was nominated for the Young Artist Award four times, winning in 1990 and 1993. She also portrayed the role as a regular on Good Morning, Miss Bliss. In May 2001, Voorhies started the Beverly Hills-based production company, You Soy Productions,^[1] which is developing Voorhies' film entitled, The Hope for Pandora's Box as of 2012.

Early life

Lark Voorhies was born Lark Holloway in Nashville, Tennessee, and later adopted "Voorhies" as a stage name.^[2][3] Her mother, Tricia,^[4] named her "Lark" after the character in the 1972 film Cool Breeze, played by Margaret Avery.^[5] By the time Voorhies was two years old, the family had moved to Pasadena, California. At this time, her mother took her to a talent agent, because "she was a natural-born ham."^[6] However, her first audition did not go well—she froze.^[6]

Voorhies' career took off at the age of 12, when she appeared in a national television commercial for Universal Studios Tour to advertise its upcoming King Kong attraction: "I was on this tram screaming with all these other people. I had such a great time doing that."^[5][7]

Entertainment career

Acting

Voorhies made her acting debut at the age of two. Though photogenic, she was shy, and her mother put Voorhies' acting career on hold until she was more comfortable in front of the cameras. Later, at the age of fourteen, Voorhies reappeared on an episode of Small Wonder in 1988. In June of that same year, she landed the recurring role of Lisa Turtle in Good Morning, Miss Bliss^[8] and appeared in thirteen episodes from 1988 to 1989. She remained as the same character, as did Zack, Screech, and Mr. Belding, after Disney dropped the series and it was picked-up and re-tooled by NBC and renamed Saved by the Bell. The characters Miss Bliss, Mylo, Mikey, and Nicky were dropped. During its first season on NBC 1989-1990, the characters Kelly Kapowski, A.C. Slater, and Jessie Spano were added. The setting was also changed from John F. Kennedy Junior High in Indianapolis to Bayside High School in Los Angeles.

Voorhies has since appeared in several television sitcoms and soap operas. She played the role of single mom Wendy Reardon on Days of Our Lives from 1993^[9] to 1994. On The Bold and the Beautiful Voorhies played the role of amiable intern fashion-designer, Jasmine Malone beginning in January 1995. She was released from her contract in November 1996 when her role required her to act in sex scenes, which the actress refused to do citing her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. She returned in April 2004 when Jasmine Malone returns to L.A when Eric and Stephiane hire her to work as a designer in the basement at Forrester Creations. She decided to renew her contract when the show offered to sign her to a one-year deal and departed the show again in July 2004 when her character Jasmine took a job at Forrester International in Europe, courtesy of Eric Forrester.

In 1995, Voorhies guest-starred in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Life Support". During the same year, Voorhies guest-starred in the season 6 episode of Family Matters, entitled "Home Sweet Home," as Eddie's upstairs dream girl. She has continued to act in various roles since then, such as In the House, in which she played the girlfriend-turned-wife of Alfonso Ribeiro’s character, Dr. Max Stanton. Previously, she played Ribeiro's love interest twice on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Besides sitcoms, Voorhies also appeared in movies and direct-to-video films. In 2001, Voorhies played a major role in the film How High as Lauren, a Harvard student.

She was involved in a 1990 movie adaptation of the book The Black Man's Guide to Understanding Black Women,^[10] and played Ana Smith in the 2008 movie entitled The Next Hit.^[11]

Modeling

As a model, she endorsed Head & Shoulders shampoo and Oxy10.^{[citation needed]}

Music

Voorhies has appeared in notable music video roles. She played Kenny Lattimore's love interest in his debut video "Never Too Busy", from his 1996 self-titled debut album, and Wanya's girlfriend in Boyz II Men's music video "On Bended Knee". She was also featured in Montell Jordan's "Somethin' for the Honeyz", and Dru Hill's "These Are the Times".

In 1994, Voorhies was in a group originally called the X-Girls (now known as Geneva) with Stacee and Yashi Brown (the daughters of singer and oldest Jackson family sibling, Rebbie Jackson).

Voorhies founded and was the lead singer in an alternative band named Third Degree. After the group disbanded, Voorhies decided to further her music career as a soloist.^{[citation needed]}

Business career

Voorhies owns Lark Voorhies Productions and Voorhies Management, Inc., which she co-founded with her brother and business partners.^{[citation needed]}

Legal dispute

On May 30, 2006, Voorhies filed a lawsuit against The National Enquirer for libel over an article that included claims she had a drug problem.^[12]

In popular culture

Voorhies is mentioned in Asher Roth's single "Lark on My Go-Kart" and in Ludacris' song "Coming 2 America", off his Word of Mouf album.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Young Artist Award

• 1989: Nominated, "Best Young Actress in a Cable Family Series" – Good Morning, Miss Bliss
• 1990: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast" – Saved by the Bell
• 1990: Won, "Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" – Saved by the Bell
• 1991: Nominated, "Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" – Saved by the Bell
• 1992: Nominated, "Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" – Saved by the Bell
• 1993: Won, "Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" – Saved by the Bell

References

External links

• Lark Voorhies at the Internet Movie Database