Lanei Chapman (born January 23, 1973) is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She has appeared primarily in guest appearances on episodes of various television series, and may be best known for her role as Lt. Vanessa Damphousse in the single 1995–96 season of the series '' Space: Above and Beyond''.

Career

Chapman first appeared on television at the age of 13 in a

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

commercial. She went on to appear in a number of films and television shows, including '' White Men Can't Jump'', ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'', '' The Wonder Years'' and '' China Beach''. She made her

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

debut in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' as Ensign Sariel Rager, a recurring character who served as a conn officer in numerous episodes, though she only received an on-screen credit for speaking parts in four episodes. She made her debut in the series '' Space: Above and Beyond'' during the pilot episode, playing main cast character Lt. Vanessa Damphousse. While filming the pilot and the early part of the series, Chapman was on a leave of absence from a post-graduate film production program at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She initially auditioned with Randy Stone, senior vice-president of talent and casting at Twentieth Century Fox Television, and then two days later with David Nutter, the director of the pilot. By her own admission, the character did not have a great deal to do in that initial two-part episode, so much so that when she was required to audition, the lines she read were from a different character as they had not yet developed Damphousse. The writers took elements of Chapman's own experiences and backstory and wrote it into the new character's as they were developing her. The series was cancelled after one season, despite an organized fan campaign to renew it.

Personal life

Chapman is a graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

with a degree in Spanish. She had originally chosen to major in Drama, but switched part-way through after discovering the extent of the foreign language program at the college. She also wrote a short play while there, called ''Home Run'', which she sent to actress

Chip Fields Chip Fields is an American singer, actress, television director, and producer who has appeared in popular films, television series, and Broadway theatre. She is best known for portraying Linella Gordon, the abusive birth mother of Penny Gordo ...

to appear in and assist Chapman in directing. She is also a qualified teacher in California, and for a short time taught

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

until she chose to pursue acting full-time.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Lanei 1973 births American educators American film actresses American television actresses Dartmouth College alumni Living people 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses