Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the daughter of two college professors, Lauren Holly was raised in Geneva, New York. Her childhood was split between experiences of growing up in a rural town and the sophistication of her parents’ academic careers. She credits her love for acting to her great-grandmother, who bred a family tradition of “treading the boards” on the musical theater stages of Liverpool and London.
Holly spent time traveling in Europe and lived for a year in London, where she studied languages and flute at the famed Sarah Siddons School. At Sarah Lawrence College, she majored in English literature and economics, and intended to become a lawyer until the Elite Modeling Agency discovered her as a college freshman. By her sophomore year, her talent landed her a theatrical agent and a series of commercials. During her last year of school, Holly appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola-produced “Seven Minutes in Heaven” and, after graduating, starred in Michael Mann’s “Band of the Hand.”
Holly’s breakthrough performance in film came in the box office smash “Dumb and Dumber.” Next, she received glowing reviews for her performance in the Edward Burns drama “No Looking Back.” Her other film credits include “Any Given Sunday,” “Sabrina,” “Turbulence,” “Beautiful Girls,” “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” “A Smile Like Yours,” “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane,” “Down Periscope,” “Entropy,” “The Last Producer,” “What Women Want,” “Colored Eggs” and “U-Boat.” She also lent her voice to the character of Chihiro’s mother in the animated motion picture “Spirited Away.” Holly recently appeared in “The Pleasure Drivers,” “Down and Derby,” “Fatwa” and “Raising Flagg.”
In addition to starring in the Emmy® Award-nominated TV drama “Chicago Hope” and Emmy® winner “Picket Fences,” Holly was seen in the television movie “King of Texas” and the mini¬series “Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot.” She has most recently starred in CBS’s Emmy®-nominated “N.C.I.S.,” and has starred in four additional Hallmark Channel Original Movies: “Santa, Jr.,” “Just Desserts,” “Before You Say I Do,” and “The Town Christmas Forgot.”
Adding writer and producer to her resume, Holly and her father have a production company, Hollycould Productions.
