Lara Flynn Boyle is an American actress known for her dark, striking look and a career that moved from cult television into film and legal drama. Born on March 24, 1970, in Davenport, Iowa, she was raised in Chicago by her mother, Sally Flynn, after her father left when she was six. She studied at the Chicago Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, then moved to Los Angeles and began working in the late 1980s. Early credits include the miniseries Amerika and the horror sequel Poltergeist III. David Lynch cast her as Donna Hayward on Twin Peaks (1990–1991), the role that made her a recognizable face and earned a Soap Opera Digest nomination. She did not return for the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Film work followed quickly: Stacy in Wayne’s World, a lead in the neo-noir Red Rock West, the thriller The Temp, Threesome, Baby’s Day Out, and Cafe Society. She also drew notice in the independent films Equinox, which brought an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and Happiness.
From 1997 to 2003 she played Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble on The Practice, appearing in more than 100 episodes. That run brought a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and three Screen Actors Guild nominations for ensemble performance. On the big screen she played the alien villain Serleena in Men in Black II. Later television work includes Huff, guest roles on Las Vegas and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and other series appearances. She has kept her private life mostly off to the side and has been married to Donald Ray Thomas II since 2006. Admirers still fix on the look that defined her early fame: long raven hair, pale skin, large blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a slim frame that photographed both fragile and sharp. That mix of cool beauty and steady screen work made her one of the defining faces of early-1990s television.