Laura Cayouette is an American actress.

Early life

Cayouette was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and grew up in Maryland. Laura graduated from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, College Park with a BA in English, then graduated a year later from

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

with an M.A. in Creative Writing and English Literature. In 2014, Cayouette was made their Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient and her name was added to the university's clock tower. Before pursuing a career in acting, Cayouette worked as a nightclub DJ, model, English professor, dress shop manager and a ticket taker at Universal City Walk Hollywood. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York before moving to Los Angeles in 1992. There, she studied with

Milton Katselas Milton George Katselas (December 22, 1933 – October 24, 2008) was an American-Greek director and producer of stage and film, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach who trained under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the acclaimed ...

at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, then with

Ivana Chubbuck Ivana Chubbuck is an American acting coach and creator of the Chubbuck technique. She heads a drama school in Los Angeles and hosts acting workshops worldwide. Chubbuck originally worked as an actress before becoming an acting coach. Some of her ...

at her studio.

Career

Best known as Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, the sister of the main villain in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's ''

Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' ( ) is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Tarantino's A Band Apart and Columbia Pictures, it stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry W ...

'', Cayouette's acting career started in 1996 with a role in ''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Harling, adapted from the 1992 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who r ...

'' (1996), the sequel to ''

Terms of Endearment ''Terms of Endearment'' is a 1983 American family tragicomedy film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff D ...

'', opposite

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

and

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...

. The same year she worked with

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

and

Garry Shandling Garry Emmanuel Shandling (November 29, 1949 – March 24, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as '' Sanford and Son'' and ''Welcome Back, Kotter''. He made a ...

on an award-winning episode of ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and List of The Larry Sanders Show episodes, ...

'' and followed that with the ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' episode " The One with the Screamer". Cayouette has worked with Tarantino four times. He first directed her in '' Kill Bill, Vol. 2'' (2004), then produced as she acted in ''

Daltry Calhoun ''Daltry Calhoun'' is a 2005 comedy-drama film, written and directed by Katrina Holden Bronson and produced by Danielle Renfrew. It stars Johnny Knoxville as the lead character Daltry Calhoun, Elizabeth Banks as Daltry's ex-girlfriend, Sophie T ...

'', a 2005 film directed by

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

’s daughter,

Katrina Holden Bronson Katrina Holden Bronson is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. Bronson is the daughter of actress Jill Ireland and the adopted daughter of actor Charles Bronson. Bronson's work as director includes ''Daltry Calhoun'' (2005), h ...

. In 2008, Cayouette and Tarantino produced '' Hell Ride'', a biker movie featuring Cayouette,

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

Michael Madsen Michael Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. Alongside his frequent collaborations with Quentin Tarantino—''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004), ''The Hateful Eight'' (2015), and ''Once Upon a Time in Hol ...

and

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known ...

, and followed that up with ''

'' (2012). Cayouette directed

Joanna Cassidy Joanna Cassidy (born Joanna Virginia Caskey; August 2, 1945) is an American actress and former model. She began working as a model in the 1960s and made her professional acting debut in 1973, appearing in the thriller films ''The Laughing Policem ...

and

Danica McKellar Danica McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate. She is best known for playing Winnie Cooper in the television series ''The Wonder Years.'' McKellar has appeared in various television f ...

in the 2004 short film, ''Intermission'' then directed

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

and

Mircea Monroe Mircea Monroe is an American actress. She had roles on the TV series ''Episodes'' as Morning Randolph (2011–2017), ''Hart of Dixie'' as Tansy Truitt (2011–2015), '' Impastor'' as Alexa Cummings (2015–2016) and '' Sing It!'' as Stacey Needl ...

in the 2011 short film, ''Lone Star Trixie''. Cayouette is the first person to ever wear a

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

dress to the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

. Designer Austin Scarlett accompanied her to the event. Cayouette has written seven books, including ''Know Small Parts: An Actor's Guide to Turning Minutes into Moments and Moments into a Career'' with foreword by

and endorsements from

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

Reginald Hudlin Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainmen ...

, and

Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips (né Upchurch; born February 17, 1962) is an American actor, director, and writer. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For his performance as Angel ...

. She is also the author of a coming of age novel, ''Lemonade Farm'', and the amateur-sleuth ''Charlotte Reade Mysteries'' series set in New Orleans and highlighting cultural events like Jazz Fest, Southern Decadence, and the Mardi Gras Indians’ Super Sunday, as well as moments like the Saints Super Bowl victory during Carnival, the

BP oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum ...

, and

Hurricane Isaac The name Isaac (or the variant Isaack) has been used for six tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean and for one in the South Pacific Ocean, and has been used for one extratropical european windstorm. In the Atlantic: * Tropical Storm Isaac (1988) ...

. Cayouette writes a blog, ''LAtoNOLA.com'', recounting many of those same events as well as dancing with the New Orleans Pussyfooters in the Mardi Gras parades and riding with

in the Monarch float after she arranged for him to preside over the Krewe of Orpheus parade during

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

2014. She was elected as a Convention Delegate in the 2019 SAG-AFTRA New Orleans Local election. More recent acting roles include the recurring Marlene in Ava Duverney's ''

Queen Sugar ''Queen Sugar'' is an American drama television series created and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, with Oprah Winfrey serving as an executive producer. DuVernay also directed the first two episodes. The series is based on the 2014 novel o ...

'' and John Schneider's wife in the film ''Hate Crime'' (2017).

Personal life

On May 24, 2014, Cayouette married Andy Gallagher in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cayouette, Laura American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Maryland 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)