Laura Harring

Laura Elena, Countess von Bismarck-Schönhausen (née Martínez-Herring; March 3, 1964), commonly known as Laura Harring, is a Mexican-American actress. In 1985, Harring became the first Hispanic woman crowned Miss USA.[1][2][3] She later began her acting career in television and film. She is best known for her dual roles as Rita and Camilla Rhodes in the 2001 postmodern neo-noir film Mulholland Drive. She is also known for her roles in other films, including The Forbidden Dance (1990), John Q (2002), Willard (2003), The Punisher (2004), The King (2005), and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Martínez and the second or maternal family name is Herring.

Laura Harring
Harring in 2011
Born	Laura Elena Martínez Herring (1964-03-03) March 3, 1964 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1987–present
Home town	San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Title	Miss Texas USA 1985 Miss USA 1985
Spouse(s)	Carl-Eduard von Bismarck ( m. 1987⁠–⁠1989)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major competition(s)	Miss Texas USA 1985 (Winner) Miss USA 1985 (Winner) Miss Universe 1985 (Top 10)
Website	lauraharring.net

Early life

Harring was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico on March 3, 1964. Her mother, María Elena Martínez-Cairo, is a spiritual teacher, real estate investor, and former secretary. Her father, Raymond Herring, was a developer and organic farmer of Austrian-German descent.[4] The two divorced in 1971. Harring lived the first ten years of her life in Mexico, before her family relocated to San Antonio, Texas. Harring suffered a head wound from a .45 bullet when she was caught by stray fire from a driveby shooting at age 12.[5][6] At age 16, she convinced her family to let her study in Switzerland at Aiglon College. She eventually returned to the United States, settling down in El Paso, Texas and entered the world of beauty pageants. She won the title of Miss El Paso USA, and soon after, Miss Texas USA, ultimately going on to win the title of Miss USA 1985. Harring spent the next year traveling through Asia, exploring Europe and working as a social worker in India.[7]

Career

Laura Harring at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

Harring studied theatre at the London Academy of Performing Arts, having trained in the Italian Commedia dell'arte, as well as Latin dances, including the Argentine tango.[8] She began her acting career in the film Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out![9] Harring played the supporting role of Jerri, a flight attendant and the girlfriend of the brother of one of the protagonists, Chris, who joins them for family dinner at their grandmother's house.[10] In television she portrayed Raúl Juliá's character's wife in the NBC television movie The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987).[1] She was cast by NBC producers after they saw her on the Miss USA broadcast and contacted her with the role.[11]

In 1990, Harring was lead actress in the Columbia Pictures release The Forbidden Dance, where she played the role of Nisa—a Brazilian Princess who travels to Los Angeles in order to stop a corporation from demolishing her family home.[12] That same year began recurring role on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, as Carla Greco.[13] The next few years she had supporting roles in films like Exit to Eden (1994),[14] and Black Scorpion II: Aftershock (1997).[15] In 1997, she played the role of Paula Stevens in the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach.[16] After leaving the show, she guest-starred on Frasier in the episode "Dial M for Martin",[17] and appeared in the comedy film Little Nicky.[18]

Laura Harring at the 2008 Cannes film festival

Harring is most well known for her performance in David Lynch's film Mulholland Drive (2001), opposite Naomi Watts and Justin Theroux. She played both the characters of "Rita" (an amnesiac who names herself after Rita Hayworth when seeing the name on a poster for the movie Gilda) and "Camilla".[19] In response to her performance and the choice of her for the role, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Not many actresses would be bold enough to name themselves after Rita Hayworth, but Harring does, because she can. Slinky and voluptuous in clinging gowns, all she has to do is stand there and she's the first good argument in 55 years for a Gilda remake."[20] Comparisons were also made between Harring and Ava Gardner by The International Herald Tribune.[21][22] In 2002 she was awarded the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film for her performance.[23] Harring went on to work twice more with Lynch—as an anthropomorphic rabbit in the limited series Rabbits (2002)[24] and in a cameo appearance in Inland Empire (2006).[25]

In 2002, she appeared in John Q,[26] and was female lead opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Derailed. In 2003, she starred in Mi Casa, Su Casa together with Barbara Eden. In 2004, she was the spoiled wife of antagonist Mr. Saint (John Travolta), Livia Saint[27] in the movie adaptation of Marvel Comics's The Punisher.[28] In 2005, Harring starred in the independent film The King, and later had roles in Nancy Drew, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Caller,[21] and Drool,[29] where she plays an abused wife fleeing her husband.[30]

In 2006, Harring joined the cast of FX's crime drama, The Shield, as defense attorney Rebecca Doyle,[31] appearing in nine episodes of season five. In the role, she is hired by lead character Vic Mackey to protect his team of corrupt police officers against an Internal Affairs investigation.[31] From 2009 to 2010, she also had a recurring role as Evelyn Bass/Elizabeth Fisher in The CW series Gossip Girl.[32][33] In the show, she plays a woman posing as the long-lost mother of the character Chuck Bass, before her deceit is discovered by the other characters.[34] She also guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2003, Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2010, and NCIS: Los Angeles in 2012 and 2016.[35] Harring was also cast in the independent film The Loner directed by Daniel Grove.[36] In 2016 she was cast in the English-language remake of the film Inside,[37] and in Legendary's first digital film The Thinning, alongside Logan Paul and Peyton List.

Personal life

In 1987, Harring married Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck-Schönhausen, great-great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck. Though the couple divorced in 1989, she retains the title of Countess von Bismarck-Schönhausen.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!	Jerri
1990	The Forbidden Dance	Nisa
1991	Dead Women in Lingerie	Marcia
1994	Exit to Eden	M.C. Kindra
1997	Black Scorpion II: Aftershock	Babette
1997	Hoover Park	Unknown
2000	Little Nicky	Mrs. Dunleavy
2001	Final Payback	Gina Carrillo
2001	Feather Pimento	Woman in Red	Short film
2001	Mulholland Drive	Camilla Rhodes/Rita	ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
2002	John Q	Gina Palumbo
2002	Derailed	Galina Konstantin
2002	Rabbits	Jane
2003	Willard	Cathryn
2003	Loco Love	Catalina
2003	The Poet	Paula
2004	The Punisher	Livia Saint
2005	All Souls Day	Martia
2005	The King	Twyla
2006	Walkout	Francis Crisostomo
2006	Inland Empire	Jane Rabbit
2007	Ghost Son	Stacey
2007	Nancy Drew	Dehlia Draycott
2007	Love in the Time of Cholera	Sara Noriega
2008	One Missed Call	Beth's Mom	Cameo
2008	The Caller	Eileen
2009	Drool	Anora Fleece
2010	Kluge
2011	Elwood	Julie Jacobs	Short film
2013	Return to Babylon	Alla Nazimova
2014	Ice Scream	Wendy
2014	Taco Shop
2014	Manson Girls	Alice Rainer
2014	Sex Ed	Lupe
2016	The Thinning	Georgina Preston
2016	Inside	The Woman
2016	Love Kills	Rosa
2018	The Thinning: New World Order	Georgina Preston

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory	Santa Anna's bride	Television movie
1988	Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge	Unknown	Television movie
1988	Beauty and the Beast	Carmen	Episode: "The Alchemist"
1989	Alien Nation	Female Newcomer	Episode: "Three to Tango"
1990–91	General Hospital	Carla Greco	Recurring role
1992	Baywatch	Princess Catherine Randenberg	Episode: "Princess of Tides"
1993	Blossom	Nurse	Episode: "The Fifty-Minute Hour"
1993	Rio Diablo	Maria Benjamin	Television movie
1995	Empire	Gabriella Cochrane	Unsuccessful television pilot
1995–96	Flipper	Garcia	3 episodes
1996	Baywatch Nights	Charlotte 'Charlie' McBride	Episode: "Thin Blood"
1996, 1999	Silk Stalkings	Paula Houston / Yvette	Episodes: "Family Values", "Cook's Tour"
1997	Sunset Beach	Paula Stevens	Series regular, 141 episodes Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Soap Opera
1997	California	Christina Guevara	Unsuccessful television pilot (spin-off from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)
1998	Frasier	Rebecca Wendell	Episode: "Dial M for Martin"
2000	Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction	Mysterious Woman	Episode: "Episode 30" Segment: Deadbeat Daddy
2000	Black Scorpion	Ariana	Episode: "Out of Thin Air"
2000	A Family in Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story	Marisleysis Gonzalez	Television movie
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Joan Quentin	Episode: "Perfect"
2006	The Shield	Rebecca Doyle	8 episodes
2007	My Neighbor's Keeper	Kate Powell	Television movie
2009	Gossip Girl	Evelyn Bass/Elizabeth	4 episodes
2010	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Marta Caldera	Episode: "True Legacy"
2012-19	NCIS: Los Angeles	Julia Feldman	5 episodes
2014–15	Chasing Life	Olivia Ortiz	Episodes: "Guess Who's Coming to Donate?", "First Person"

References

1. "Laura Elena Harring Biography". Yahoo! Movies.
2. "Laura Harring: Biography". TV Guide.
3. "Laura Elena Harring movies, photos, movie reviews, filmography, and biography". AllMovie. 1964-03-03. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
4. Frank Javier Garcia Berumen (2014). Latino Image Makers in Hollywood: Performers, Filmmakers and Films Since the 1960s. McFarland. p. 307.
5. "Cover Story: Being shot in the head with a .45 changed my life". Scottish Daily Record. 2004.
6. "Women We Love: Laura Elena Harring". Esquire. February 1, 2002. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008.
7. "Laura Harring" Archived 2016-10-31 at the Wayback Machine www.askmen.com
8. "Laura Harring" www.filmbug.com
9. "30th Anniversary Silent Night, Deadly Night Retrospective: Part 3 - Dread Central". www.dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
10. Roxburgh, Charles; Farley, Matt; Scalzo, Tom (2004). ShockJuly: An Adventure in Horror. iUniverse, Inc. p. 109. ISBN 0-595-30858-9.
11. Melissa Parker (August 10, 2010). "Laura Harring Interview: 'Mulholland Drive' Star Discovered at Miss USA Pageant". Smashing Interviews Magazine.
12. Erbland, Kate (March 16, 2015). "Celebrating 25 Years of the Dueling Lambada Movies". Vanity Fair.
13. Kellner, Elena (June 24, 1993). "Perez Joins '$2 Million Tip' Film Cast". Los Angeles Times.
14. "Exit to Eden: Cast & Crew". TV Guide.
15. Sherman, Fraser A. (2000). Cyborgs, Santa Claus and Satan: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Made for Television. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7864-4341-3.
16. Javier, Frank; Berumen, Garcia (2014). Latino Image Makers in Hollywood: Performers, Filmmakers and Films Since the 1960s. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-7864-7432-5.
17. Frasier episode "Dial M for Martin" on IMDb
18. "Little Nicky: Cast & Crew". TV Guide.
19. Giannopoulou, Zina, ed. (2013). Mulholland Drive. Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-415-82465-1.
20. Ebert, Roger (October 12, 2001). "Mulholland Drive". RogerEbert.com.
21. Verswijver, Leo (February 3, 2015). "Laura Harring: 'Film means something, you can make a difference with a film'". filmsite.org.
22. Dupont, Joan (May 19, 2001). "Cannes Film Festival: A Smooth Exterior But Wild at Heart: David Lynch in Competition for 4th Time". International Herald Tribune.
23. Awards for Laura Harring on IMDb
24. Thomas, Bryan (April 16, 2017). "'Rabbits': David Lynch's surreal sitcom about three rabbits". Night Flight.
25. Keesey, Douglas (2010). Neo-Noir. Kamera Books. ISBN 978-1-84243-311-9.
26. Berry, S. Torriano; Berry, Venise T. (2007). The A to Z of African American Cinema. Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-8108-6871-7.
27. Ebert, Roger (2007). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing, Inc. p. 561. ISBN 978-0-7407-6157-7.
28. "The Punisher". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
29. Laura Harring on IMDb
30. "Trio cast in 'Drool'". The Hollywood Reporter. October 26, 2008.
31. Shister, Gail (2005-10-27). "Laura Harring joins 'Shield'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
32. "'Gossip Girl' Spoilers: More on Chuck's Mother". Buddy TV. December 10, 2009.
33. "Laura Harring to Play Chuck Bass' Mom". TV Fanatic. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
34. http://www.nochelatina.com/Articles/5347/Interview-with-Laura-Harring
35. "Laura Harring: Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
36. Fuller, Graham (22 April 2016). "Tribeca Film Festival 2016 round-up". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
37. Squires, John (May 4, 2016). "Laura Harring Joins English-Language Inside Remake". Dread Central.

External links

• Official website
• Laura Harring on IMDb

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Laura Shaw	Miss Texas USA 1985	Succeeded by Christy Fichtner
Preceded by Mai Shanley	Miss USA 1985	Succeeded by Christy Fichtner
Media offices
Preceded by Angie Dickinson	Miss USA color commentator (with Leeza Gibbons) 1990	Succeeded by Barbara Eden and Deborah Shelton
Preceded by Leeza Gibbons and Courtney Gibbs	Miss USA color commentator (with Arthel Neville) 1994	Succeeded by Daisy Fuentes