Lori Singer - Biography

Lori Singer (born November 6, 1957) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ariel Moore, the female lead in the 1984 feature film Footloose, and as Julie Miller in the television series Fame.

Film and television career

Singer first came to fame when she was cast as cellist Julie Miller, one of The Kids from "Fame", in the TV series Fame. She portrayed a cellist in a part that was created for her. After starring as Ariel Moore, the female lead in Footloose, she starred in a number of other movies, including The Falcon and the Snowman (directed by John Schlesinger and starring Sean Penn), and The Man with One Red Shoe (with Tom Hanks). Her role in Trouble in Mind led to her nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Singer has also had roles in Equinox, Summer Heat, Warlock, Sunset Grill, F.T.W., and the Robert Altman film Short Cuts. In 1995, she played Sydney Bloom, the lead character in the science fiction TV series VR.5. In addition to her acting, she produced Summer Heat and was involved in the creative conception of VR.5.

In 1986, Singer was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role of Georgia in Trouble in Mind. She, and the rest of the actors in Short Cuts, won awards for best ensemble cast at the 50th Venice International Film Festival and the 51st Golden Globe Awards. She also won Newcomer of the Year at ShoWest for her role in Born Beautiful.

On May 4, 2011, Singer returned to television with a guest starring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Musical life and career

Singer was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. She grew up in a musical family: her father, Jacques Singer, was a famous conductor and protégé of Leopold Stokowski, and her mother, Leslie, is a concert pianist. Her brother is the actor Marc Singer. As a child, she was often around such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein. Singer is Jewish.

A Juilliard-trained cellist, she was a student of Leonard Rose. Singer made her debut as soloist at age thirteen with the Oregon Symphony. Singer has performed in public on such stages as the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. She plays the cello in Short Cuts, Fame, and also in Sarabande, a 1997 short film by Atom Egoyan that is part of the Inspired by Bach series. Singer performed as soloist at Carnegie Hall in January 2008, premiering a hymn written by Karl Jenkins in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Filmography

External links