The L Word

Background:

Actress Laurel Holloman is most famous for portraying Jennifer Beals' lover, Tina Kennard, on the popular Showtime series “The L Word” (2004-2009), for which she received a Golden Satellite Award. She is also known for her recurring role of Justine Cooper on “Angel,” a stint she held from December 2001 until October 2002, and for playing Randy Dean in the independent film “The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love” (1995). Other film credits include “Blossom Time” (1996), “Boogie Nights” (1997), “The Myth of Fingerprints” (1997), “Dying to Belong” (TV, 1997), “Prefontaine” (1997), “Tumbleweeds” (1999), “Committed” (2000) and “The Rising Place” (2001). In addition to acting, Holloman is an artist and shows her work at art shows and on her website.

Holloman and her husband Paul Macherey have two daughters, Lola and Nala Belle (adopted). The couple recently filed for divorce. Holloman was romantically involved with actor Billy Crudup during the 1990s.

Shy Girl

Childhood and Family:

The youngest child in her family, Laurel Holloman was born on May 23, 1971, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was very timid until she discovered acting in her late teens. She attended the University of North Carolina, but moved to Chicago after her freshman year to work with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She also trained at the British American Dramatic Academy in London. It was not long before Laurel decided to pursue acting professionally and she moved to Los Angeles to study with John Lynn. In 1994, she relocated to New York and began acting off-Broadway.

On July 13, 2002, Laurel married architect Paul Macherey. The couple welcomed a daughter, Lola Reiko Macherey, on November 4, 2004. They adopted a second daughter, Nala Belle, on March 25, 2008.

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

Career:

Laurel Holloman began performing off-Broadway after she moved to New York City in 1994 and appeared in Carson McCullers' “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” Tennessee Williams' “Glass Menagerie” and Julia Jordan's “Night Swim.” In 1995, she landed the role of Randy Deanon in “The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love,” a dramatic comedy written and directed by Maria Maggenti. The film garnered positive reviews at its premiere at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Later that same year, Holloman costarred with Peter Facinelli and Jay R. Ferguson in David Burton Morris' “The Price of Love.”

In 1996, Holloman made her television movie debut in ABC's “Dalva,” an adaptation of Jim Harrison's 1988 novel of the same name that was directed by Ken Cameron. She also starred as Francis Bodean in the David Orr drama “Blossom Time,” which won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 1996 Florida Film festival and was nominated for the Maverick Spirit Award at the 1997 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. In 1997, she starred with Titus Welliver and John Harnagel in the award wining short “The Clearing,” by Kat Smith, worked with Hilary Swank, Sarah Chalke and Jenna von Oÿ on the NBC film “Dying to Belong,” and appeared as Carol in an episode of ABC's “Cracker: Mind Over Murder” called “True Romance: Part 1.” She was also cast as Elaine Finley in “Prefontaine,” supported Zach Galligan, Corin Nemec and Kurt Deutsch in “The First to Go,” for director/writer John L. Jacobs, and costarred with Julianne Moore, Roy Scheider, Hope Davis, Blythe Danner, Noah Wyle and Michael Vartan in “The Myth of Fingerprints,” a film directed and written by Bart Freundlich. In addition, she played the small role of Sheryl Lynn in Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed movie “Boogie Nights,” which starred Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle and William H. Macy.

Holloman was next cast opposite James Duval in Dan Mirvish's “Stamp and Deliver” (1998), worked with Campbell Scott, Laura Linney and Jared Harris in “Lush” (1999), which was written and directed by Mark Gibson, and starred as Lily Delacroix in the Jean-Marc Vallée directed thriller “Loser Love” (1999). She also costarred with Hill Harper and David Moscow in “Loving Jezebel” (1999), a romantic comedy by Kwyn Bader, and teamed up with Dylan Walsh and Penelope Ann Miller for the comedy “Chapter Zero” (1999), by Aaron Mendelsohn. Still in 1999, she costarred with Jamie Harris in the short “Tide,” with Shalom Harlow, Jake Weber and Isaach De Bankolé in the film “Cherry,” and Janet McTeer, Kimberly J. Brown, Gavin O'Connor and Jay O. Sanders in the Sundance premiered “Tumbleweeds.”

Entering the new millennium, Holloman appeared in the Miramax film “Committed” (2000), which was written and directed by Lisa Krueger and starred Heather Graham, Casey Affleck and Luke Wilson. In 2001, she worked with P. Michael Bourgoin and Eric Close in Josiah Emery's “Liberty, Maine,” Liam Aiken, Frances Fisher and Alice Drummond in Tom Rice's award winning drama “The Rising Place,” Charlie Hofheimer and Leo Fitzpatrick in Peter Callahan's “Last Bell,” and Kieran Mulroney, Annabeth Gish and Darren E. Burrows in Ami Canaan Mann's “Morning.” She was also cast in “Popcorn Shrimp,” a 2001 short directed by actor Christopher Walken. In 2002, she portrayed Charlotte in the horror film “Alone,” opposite Miriam Margolyes and John Shrapnela.

Holloman revisited the small screen in October 2001 when she landed the recurring role of Karen Matlin in the series “That's Life,” which was broadcasted on CBS from October 2000 to January 2002. She then portrayed Justine Cooper, a young woman who becomes a vampire hunter after her twin sister is killed by vampires, in “Angel” (The WB, 1999-2004), a spin-off of the hit series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and Nicole in a 2002 episode of “Touched by an Angel” called “Hello, I Love You.”

After guest starring in the CBS series “Without a Trace” (2003, as Joan Wilson), Holloman gained a big breakthrough when she won the starring role of Tina Kennard, a lover of Bette Porter (played by Jennifer Beals), in the Showtime lesbian series “The L Word.” She was on the show from January 2004 to March 2009 and in 2005, was awarded a Golden Satellite for Best Actress in a Series, Drama for her performance.

Following the departure of “The L Word” from the airwaves, Holloman guest starred in an episode of “Castle” called “Deep in Death,” which aired on September 21, 2009. In late 2010, she appeared as Joey's mom in the pilot of the cable TV channel TeenNick series “Gigantic.” She returned to the show to play RaeAnne Colvin in the episodes “Cas' Girls Are Not So Easy” (October 20, 2010) and “All In” (November 5, 2010).

Awards:

• Satellite: Golden Satellite, Best Actress in a Series, Drama, “The L Word,” 2005