Lusia Rozalia 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
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois, to a Ukrainian family. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language
and regularly attended Ukrainian school on weekends. She had first decisive successes at performing arts, while a high school student, and attended
Illinois State University
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...
.
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, and
Victory Gardens theaters as well as for the
Curious Theatre Company, the Northlight Repertory, and others, and has also worked for Yoplait,
WBEZ
WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is f ...
, and the
Chicago Jazz Festival.
Film and TV actress
Strus is noted for her role as
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
'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's and
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures.
His ...
's ''
Restless''. 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
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strus, Lusia
1969 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
Actresses from Chicago
American film actresses
American stage actresses
Living people
American people of Ukrainian descent