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She has danced with the The Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, The Ballet Repertory and the American Ballet Theatre.
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Lea's theatrical credits include The Vagina Monologues, Cabaret, The Trip Back Down, The Illusion, Long Time Coming, Charlie Hacon's Family, Bus Stop and The Little Mermaid.
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Lea appeared in Mall of America commercials in 1996 and in Chevrolet commercials from 1996-2000.
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Her favorite travel destination is Montana.
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Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because families gets together and eat and people don't have to exchange too many gifts.
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Her favorite recipes are olive chicken over pasta, her mother's spaghetti, and green bean and salami salad.
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Lea began studying dance at the age of nine years old. She began dancing professionally at the age of 14.
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At the age of 19 (with only $300 in her pocket) Lea moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.
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When she was a kid she would practice ballet for three to four hours every day.
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Her first role was in the movie Jaws 3-D as a water ski bunny.
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Her parents divorced when she was six.
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She was a ballet dancer until
Baryshnikov told her she was too stocky.
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She attended Marshall-University High School in Minneapolis.
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Her brother, Andrew Thompson, was also a modern ballet dancer with the Colorado Ballet. They both took ballet classes throughout their youth and he helped her pay for her classes later on in life.
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Her brother Andrew Thompson, also a ballet dancer, help her put up the money for dance classes when she was little.
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She won the role of Amanda Jones in "Some Kind of Wonderful" after
Molly Ringwald turned it down.
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