Lori Singer (born November 6, 1957) is an American actress and musician. The daughter of conductor Jacques Singer, she was born in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "''Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio ...

, and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, where her father served as the lead conductor of the Oregon Symphony from 1962 to 1972. Singer was a musical prodigy, making her debut as a cellist with the Oregon Symphony at thirteen, and was subsequently accepted to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

, where she became the institution's youngest graduate. In the early 1980s, she signed with

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

before shifting her focus to acting. She was cast as Julie Miller, a teenage dancer and cellist, in the television series '' Fame'', in which she appeared between 1982 and 1983. Singer gained notice for her lead role as Ariel Moore in the musical drama film '' Footloose'' (1984). She was later cast in supporting roles in

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

's drama ''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

'' (1985), the comedy '' The Man with One Red Shoe'' (1985), the horror film ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicati ...

'' (1989), and

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

's ensemble drama ''

Short Cuts ''Short Cuts'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, whic ...

'' (1993). She was nominated for the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead wass one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Geraldine Page bein ...

for her performance in '' Trouble in Mind'' (1985).

Early life

Singer was born November 6, 1957 in

, to Jacques Singer, a Polish-born conductor and protégé of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, and Leslie (née Wright), a concert pianist. She has a

fraternal twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother, Gregory, a violinist; and two older brothers: actor

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

, and Claude. At the time of her birth, Singer's father was working as the conductor of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra. Singer is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. When Singer was four years old, she relocated with her family to

, where her father served as lead conductor of the

Portland Symphony Orchestra The Portland Symphony Orchestra was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their ...

from 1962 to 1972. Singer spent her formative years in Portland, and made her debut as soloist at the age of thirteen with the Oregon Symphony. She attended Lincoln High School in Portland. In the summer of 1971, Singer and brother Gregory attended a summer music camp in New York led by cellist

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

. Singer was accepted into the

at age fourteen, where she became the youngest graduate of the institution. After graduating from Juilliard, Singer performed with the

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

Symphony Orchestra.

Career

1980–2006: Acting career

After completing her studies at Juilliard, Singer signed with Elite Modeling Agency. She continued to perform as a concert soloist, and in 1980 won the Bergen Philharmonic Competition. She subsequently shifted her focus to acting, inspired by her brother, Marc. Commenting on her decision to pursue a career as an actress, she said: "In a world where such terrible things are happening, it's just so fantastic to become someone else." In 1982, Singer was cast as Julie Miller, a shy high school student, in the television series '' Fame'', and appeared in the first two seasons. The role of Miller, a teenage dancer and cellist, was written specifically for Singer's talents. In 1983, she and a number of other cast members—under the group name

the Kids from "Fame" The Kids from "Fame" was the group name of several cast members from the American TV series '' Fame'' who had a number of hit singles and albums at the height of the show's success in the United Kingdom. This success culminated in tours of Britain, ...

—performed a live concert at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, which was recorded and released as a live album. Bruce Abbott and Lori Singer – Summer Heat

Singer starred in the TV movie ''Born Beautiful'' (1983), for which was awarded Newcomer of the Year at

ShoWest The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the worldwide major theater chains' operators are members, as are hundreds of independent theater opera ...

. One year later, she won the

Breakthrough Performer of the Year Award for her role as Ariel Moore, the female lead in '' Footloose'' (1984). She starred in a number of other movies, including ''

'' (1985) and '' The Man with One Red Shoe'' (1985). Her role in '' Trouble in Mind'' (1985) led to her nomination for an

. Singer has also had roles in ''

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

'' (1992), '' Summer Heat'' (1987), ''

'' (1989), '' Sunset Grill'' (1993), '' F.T.W.'' (1994), and the

film ''

'' (1993). She was awarded a Golden Globe as an actor for "Best Ensemble" for ''Short Cuts''. The ''Short Cuts'' cast won awards for best ensemble at the

50th Venice International Film Festival The 50th annual Venice International Film Festival was held on 31 August to 11 September 1993. Jury The following people comprised the 1993 jury: *Peter Weir (head of jury) * Mohamed Camara * Carla Gravina *James Ivory * Kaige Chen *Nelson Pere ...

and the

51st Golden Globe Awards The 51st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1993, were held on January 22, 1994, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The nominations were announced on December 22, 1993. Winners and nominees ...

. In 1995, she played Sydney Bloom, the lead character in the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

TV series ''

VR.5 ''VR.5'' is an American science-fiction television series first broadcast on the Fox network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Ten of its thirteen episodes were aired during its original run. The title of the show refers to the degree of immersion ...

''. In addition to her acting, she produced ''Summer Heat'' and was involved in the creative conception of ''VR.5''. In 1997, Singer acted in the fourth episode of the series '' Inspired by Bach'', where she also played the cello with

, whose summer music camp she had attended in 1971.

2007–present

Singer performed as a soloist at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

in January 2008, premiering a hymn written by Karl Jenkins in memory of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

On May 4, 2011, Singer returned to television with a guest-starring role on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. In 2013, Singer executive produced with Sheila Nevins, HBO, and

Jessica Kingdon Jessica Kingdon is a Chinese American director and producer. She was nominated for the 2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for directing the documentary ''Ascension''. Career Kingdon received her BA from Columbia University in 2009 ...

the documentary '' Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God'', directed by Alex Gibney. In 2012 the film won the Grierson Award at the London Film Festival and it also won the Chicago International Film Festival's award. In 2013, the film won the Best Feature Documentary category in the Irish Film and Television Awards. In the United States, the film was nominated for five prime-time Emmy awards; it won three: "Exceptional Merit in Documentary Film Making", "Outstanding Writing", and "Best Editor". The film was short-listed for the Academy Awards in 2013 and was nominated for a Writers Guild Award. In 2014 the documentary was awarded a Peabody Award. In 2017 she narrated the documentary '' God Knows Where I Am'' which won 17 film festivals, an Emmy and was on Netflix in 2019. She also performed “Linda's Song” with Paul Cantelone for the soundtrack of the film.

Personal life

Singer married lawyer Richard David Emery in 1980."Actress Sues Famed Lawyer–Hubby for $20M"
''New York Post''. Retrieved February 27, 2013. They had a son together before divorcing in 1996.

Filmography

Television

Music videos

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Lori Living people Actresses from Portland, Oregon Actresses from Texas American film actresses American television actresses Classical musicians from Texas Jewish American actresses Jewish classical musicians Juilliard School alumni Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Musicians from Portland, Oregon Oregon Symphony Texas classical music Volpi Cup winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1957 births Classical musicians from Oregon