Lusia Strus (born December 13, 1969) is an American writer and stage and film actress with
Neo-Futurists.
Childhood and work as a theater actress
Strus was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Illinois, to a Ukrainian family. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language
and attended Ukrainian school, at weekends, regularly. She had first decisive successes at performing arts, while a high school student, and attended
Illinois State University.
As a theater major, she joined Greg Allen's
Neo-Futurist ensemble, in 1993, which she wrote solo and ensemble performances for. She has played for the Chicago
Steppenwolf,
Goodman
Goodman or Goodmans may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Goodman Games, American publisher.
* Goodman Global, an American HVAC manufacturer.
* Goodman Group, an Australian property company.
* Goodmans Industries, a British electronic comp ...
, and
Victory Gardens theaters as well as for the
Curious Theatre Company, the Northlight Repertory, and others, and has also worked for Yoplait,
WBEZ, and the
Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival is an admission-free, four-day annual jazz festival in Chicago's Millennium Park. It is run by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and programmed with the assistance of Jazz Institute of Chicago durin ...
.
Film and TV actress
Strus is noted for her role as
Adam Sandler's assistant (Alexa) in ''
50 First Dates'', as well as for playing eclectic characters and sometimes incorporating unusual accents in her roles. Her career has spanned theatre and stage for nearly two decades. She had a recurring role on Nickelodeon's ''
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' as Dr. Xavier. Strus played Janine in ''
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', and plays Rachel in
Jason Lew
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. H ...
's and
Gus Van Sant's ''
Restless
Restless may refer to:
* Psychomotor agitation, restlessness experienced as a result of certain medications or conditions
Music
* Restless Records
Albums
* ''Restless'' (Sara Evans album) and its title track, 2003
* ''Restless'' (Murray H ...
''. She had a recurring role in ''
Wayward Pines'' (2015), and played Letty's mother Estelle on ''
Good Behavior'' from 2016 to 2018.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strus, Lusia
Actresses from Chicago
American film actresses
American women writers
American stage actresses
Living people
American people of Italian descent
American people of Ukrainian descent
1969 births
21st-century American women