Biography: Lori Singer

Lori Singer^[1] (born November 6, 1957) is an American actress and cellist. She is perhaps best known for her role of Ariel Moore, the daughter of Reverend Shaw Moore (played by John Lithgow) in the 1984 film Footloose, which also starred Kevin Bacon. Madonna reportedly auditioned for the role of Ariel losing out to then relatively unknown Singer.

Personal life

Singer was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, the daughter of Leslie (née Wright), a concert pianist, and Jacques Singer, a symphony orchestra conductor. Her brothers are actor Marc Singer, brand strategist Claude Singer, and violinist Gregory Singer.

Film and television career

Singer first came to fame when she was cast as Julie Miller in the TV series Fame from 1982-1983. She portrayed a cellist in a part that was created for her^{[citation needed]}. After Footloose, she starred in a number of other movies, including The Falcon and the Snowman (directed by John Schlesinger and co-starring Sean Penn), The Man with One Red Shoe (with Tom Hanks), Trouble in Mind (directed by Alan Rudolph), Equinox, Summer Heat, Warlock, Sunset Grill, F.T.W., and the Robert Altman film Short Cuts. In 1995, she played Sydney Bloom, the lead character in the science fiction TV series VR.5. She produced Summer Heat, and was involved in the creative conception of VR.5.

In 1986, Singer was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role of Georgia in Trouble in Mind. She, and the rest of the actors in Short Cuts, won awards for best ensemble cast at the 1993 Venice Film Festival and the 1994 Golden Globe Awards. She also won newcomer of the year at Sho West and a Silver Halo Award.

Musical life

Singer is a Juilliard-trained cellist and was a protégée of Leonard Rose. She grew up in a musical family: her father, Jacques Singer, was a famous conductor and protégé of Stokowski, and her mother is a concert pianist. As a child, she was often around such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein. She made her debut as soloist at age thirteen with the Oregon Symphony. Singer has performed in public on such stages as the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. She plays the cello in Short Cuts, Fame, and also in Sarabande, a 1997 short film by Atom Egoyan that is part of the Inspired by Bach series, which also features cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She most recently performed as soloist at Carnegie Hall in January 2008, where she premiered a hymn written by Karl Jenkins in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Filmography

See also

• The Kids from "Fame"

References

1. ^ She has no middle name, according to the State of Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. At Ancestry.com

External links

• Lori Singer at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times Movies biography of Lori Singer

Lori Singer main page.