Lea Thompson

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Biography

Recent Role:
Kathryn Kennish on Switched At Birth
Gender:
 
Born:
5-31-1961
Birthplace:
Rochester, Minnesota
Birth Name:
Lea Katherine Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson was born May 31, 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota. She is the youngest of five children. Her parents are Barbara and Cliff Thompson. Since all her siblings were much older than her, Lea says it seemed like she had more than two parents. The family lived in the Starlight motel, all the kids sharing a room. Things began to look up for the family when Lea's father got a job in Minneapolis, where the family moved.

Lea's parents divorced when she was six, and her mother decided to maintain the family. This wasn't the easiest job considering her mother was alcohol

… More addicted at the time. When she found the strength to quit drinking, she took a job playing the piano and singing in a bar to support Lea and her siblings. When Lea was seven, her mother remarried.

Ever since Lea was little, she loved to dance. Ballet to be exact. She would practice three to four hours everyday. Her first role was a mouse in The Nutcracker. After Lea turned fourteen, she had performed in more than forty-five ballets on stages such as The Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet Comapany, and The Ballet Repertory. She won scholarships to The American Ballet Theatre and The San Francisco Ballet. At age nineteen, Lea auditioned for Mikhail Baryshnikov, who later told her that she was too stalky. Lea knew her dreams had been crushed.

Lea began working as a waitress, also making twenty-two Burger King commercials and a few Twix commercials. She was perfect for these parts simply because she was the average girl-down-the-street from the midwest. Everyone who knows her can't believe she was and still is so completely different...trying to be independent and fight againts the system. In 1982, Lea made some type of a computer game or interactive movie known as Murder, Anyone.

Lea's first role was in the movie Jaws 3-D as a water ski bunny, although she couldn't swim or ski, which she still can't! She then met Dennis Quaid, who became her fiance and acting coach. Her next role was in All The Right Moves where she acted oppisite of Tom Cruise. Director Michael Chapman was so dissappointed with her performance, that he almost fired her. Between 1983 and 1984, Lea appeared in other "teen" movie such as Red Dawn, The Wild Life, and Going Undercover (aka Yellow Pages). Lea thinks it was lucky that in these movie they were able to use anyone who could walk and talk.

Lea's biggest known accomplishment, and her big break, came from the first Back to the Future. It was the biggest hit of 1985, and Lea was suddenly the most wanted actress. She could have her pick at any role she wanted to take on. She did - and made the worst choice of her life, Howard the Duck (Space Camp was released the same year, but it wasn't her worst choice). Although it was a George Lucas production movie, the critics turned the movie, and Lea, down. After this followed more dissappointing movie, which Lea says, "It was really painful, and it's still painful."

Director Howard Duetch offered Lea a part in his movie, Some Kind of Wonderful, but she refused. After he urged her to do it, she reconsidered. She won the Young Artist Award for best young actress. During filming, Howard and Lea fell in love, and she called it off with Dennis. She then went on to film Wizard of Lonliness, which was her first movie to not portray a young girl, but a woman.

Lea went on to film Back to the Future II and Tales from the Crypt. She then married Howard Duetch, who didn't exactly want to marry her. She continued filming Back to the Future III, Montana, and Article 99. Lea then took a break to stay home with her first born, Madeline.

She jumped back into acting in Dennis the Menace, where she says she just played herself. Then it was on to The Beverly Hillbillies, Stolen Babies, The Little Rascals, and The Substitute Wife. In 1994, she had her second child, Zoey.

Lea then went into filming The Unspoken Truth.

It was then that she was first given the script of a new NBC sitcom, Caroline in the City. It was probably the best decition Lea ever made. She won a People's Choice Award for best actress in a new sitcom. Unfortunatly, with all of NBC's problems, Caroline in the City kept being moved to a worse and worse time slot, giving it horrible ratings. The show ended after only four seasons. Bad ideas of creators (Julia, etc) didn't help either.

Lea quickly went onto The Right to Remain Silent, The Unknown Cyclist, and A Will of Their Own (a miniseries). She also guess starred in Friends: The Baby on the Bus as Caroline Duffy, and on the Larry Sanders Show.

Lea also did some on stage work, including starring as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. The show toured, and also appeared on Broadway. She then did The Vagina Monolouges in L.A.

Most recently, she is back on television with her new drama on Lifetime. She stars as a Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney, Camille Paris.

She will soon be seen in two new movies, Electric, and The Haunted Lighthouse.

Check http://www.volny.cz/hpxdk/ for more information.

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    Still as beautiful as she was in Back to the Future. hide show

    Lea Thompson has a timeless complexion, though it seems time moves on and she gets older, she is still as beautiful today as she was when I saw her in Back to the Future.

    Lea is a remarkable actress, really fooled me when I first saw back to the future they way they had her made up had me believe she was a lot older then she was, but I didn't realize that she was only 17, and that the young girl you saw during the 1955 scenes where what she really looked like.

    She has made a few TV specials like Jane Doe, and even reunited with Christopher Lloyd in the film Dennis the Menace.

    Lea gets more beautiful as she gets older, and I'm glad that she's still an actress.

    Do you agree?
     
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    Bountyhunterc28 Added Apr 19, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    9 Superb
    empty hide show

    Great actress. I think that she is really cool and her style is very different, I really like the way she acts and the way she behaves. I love her as Lorraine McFly in Back to the Future, she was awesome in the three movies, and she was the perfect woman for that role. I really like her style and I think that she is simply one great actress.

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    NoOneIsAlone Added Mar 3, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    9 Superb
    Still Hot today! hide show

    I follow the career of Lea Thompson since her movie days in the 1980's. I saw her in one 1988 movie, in a title I couldn't forget, she gave a very sexy performance. I was madly in love with her. but she got married and I was heartbroken. Time Warp to 2006 when she made her singing debut on "Celebrity Duets" when she sang and I loved it. But suddenely, when was voted off the show, I quit watching. I was hoping that she will win. But I was wrong. It's now 2006 and she is still more beautiful than ever.

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    GeorgeJobson Added Nov 13, 2006 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    My favorite actress of all time! hide show

    Lea Thompson is one of my all time favorites! She is deffinetly underrated! I love how she performs each character as if she is telling a whole new story and to really understand what an amazing actress Lea can be, you need to see her in at least 3 of her different characters. The way she transitions from one character to the enxt without a slight hint of the character she was playing before will amaze me until the day I die. She is an amazing actress who deserves an oscar for every piece she has ever done!

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    Kat190 Added Jun 15, 2006 All my reviews
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    9.6 Superb
    A very talented actress! hide show

    Lea is one of the most talented actresses I have ever seen. Of course that is my opinion. She was absolutely hilarious in Caroline in the City. She portrayed the character very well. Also, she did a great job in the movie Some Kind of Wonderful and also in the Back to the Future movies. Very, very talented.

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    Shauna05 Added Nov 4, 2005 All my reviews
 

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