Lori Petty

Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963)[1] is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films Point Break (1991), A League of Their Own (1992), Free Willy (1993), and the title role in Tank Girl (1995).

Lori Petty
colour portrait photograph of Lori Petty taken in 2023
Petty in 2023
Born (1963-10-14) October 14, 1963[1]
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1984–present

Petty joined the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black as Lolly Whitehill as a guest star in the second season, and a recurring character in the third, fourth and seventh seasons.

Early life

Petty, the eldest of three children, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the daughter of a Pentecostal minister.[2] She had a difficult upbringing after her mother left her abusive father and became a drug addicted prostitute, which left the young Petty responsible for her younger sisters.[3] Petty graduated from North High School in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1981, and worked for several years in Omaha, Nebraska, as a graphic designer before pursuing acting.[2]

Career

Petty got her break starring with Richard Grieco in Fox's Booker. In 1990, Petty made her film debut as Robin Williams's wannabe fashion designer girlfriend in Cadillac Man. The following year, Petty played the surfer who taught Keanu Reeves how to surf in the 1991 action thriller Point Break. In 1992, Petty was featured in A League of Their Own, opposite Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna.

She played the title role in the film adaptation of the British cult comic book Tank Girl in 1995. Her other films include Free Willy, The Poker House, and In the Army Now. She also co-starred in the television series Lush Life with her friend Karyn Parsons, but it was cancelled after five episodes. She joined the cast of Brimstone as the owner of Stone's hotel.

Petty also provided the voice of the supervillain Livewire on the Warner Bros. series Superman: The Animated Series, and The New Batman Adventures. Although she was originally cast as Lt. Lenina Huxley in Demolition Man, disagreements over the character's direction led producer Joel Silver to recast the role with Sandra Bullock.[4] Petty played the role of "Daddy", an alpha female inmate, in Prison Break: The Final Break.

She starred in a series of television commercials created by Merkley Newman Harty's Steve Bowen for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's "Go, Baby, Go" advertising campaign in 1998.[5][6]

Petty's directorial debut, The Poker House – a film dramatizing her own difficult childhood[3] – won awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival. She narrated the first three books of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series—One for the Money, Two for the Dough, and Three to Get Deadly. C. J. Critt read the unabridged version for Recorded Books. Petty read the abridgments for Simon & Schuster.[7]

In 2021, she starred in Station Eleven on HBO.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1988 ...They Haven't Seen This... The Girl Short film
1990 Cadillac Man Lila
1991 Point Break Tyler Ann Endicott
1992 A League of Their Own Kit Keller
1993 Free Willy Rae Lindley
1993 Poetic Justice Penelope
1994 The Glass Shield Deputy Deborah Fields
1994 In the Army Now Christine Jones
1995 Tank Girl Rebecca Buck, Tank Girl
1996 Countdown Sara Daniels
1998 Relax...It's Just Sex Robin Moon
1999 The Arrangement Candy
1999 Clubland India
2001 MacArthur Park Kelly
2001 Firetrap Lucy
2001 Route 666 Deputy U.S. Marshal Stephanie 'Steph'
2001 Horrible Accident Six
2003 Prey for Rock & Roll Faith
2006 Cryptid Dr. Lean Carlin
2007 Broken Arrows Erin
2008 The Poker House Writer/director; directorial debut
2009 Prison Break: The Final Break Daddy Direct-to-video
2010 Chasing 3000 Deputy Fryman
2014 Happy Fists Claudia Brenda
2016 Dead Awake Dr. Sykes
2018 Fear, Love, and Agoraphobia Francis
2020 A Deadly Legend Wanda Pearson
2021 The Survivalist Radio Operator
TBA You're All Gonna Die Donatella Post-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Equalizer Brandi (Hooker) Episode: "The Lock Box"
1986 The Twilight Zone Lori Pendleton Episode: "The Library"
1987 Stingray Lisa Perlman Episode: "Bring Me the Hand That Hit Me"
1987 Bates Motel Willie Television film
1987 Head of the Class Molly 2 episodes
1988 The Thorns 'Cricket' Henshaw Regular role (12 episodes)
1988 Miami Vice Carol Episode: "Love at First Sight"
1988 Freddy's Nightmares Chris Ketchum Episode: "Killer Instinct"
1988 Police Story: Monster Manor Jeannie Pardonales Television film
1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder Cassie Television film
1989 Alien Nation Sally 'Sal' Episode: "Fifteen with Wanda"
1989–1990 Booker Suzanne Dunne Recurring role (10 episodes)
1990 Grand Medea Episode: "A Boy and His Dad"
1996 Lush Life Georgette 'George' Sanders Regular role (7 episodes)
1997 Profiler Robin Poole, Marjorie Brand Episodes: "Venom: Parts 1 & 2"
1997 Superman: The Animated Series Leslie Willis / Livewire Voice, 2 episodes
1998 The New Batman Adventures Voice, episode: "Girls' Night Out"
1998–1999 Brimstone Maxine Recurring role (7 episodes)
1999 Star Trek: Voyager Noss Episode: "Gravity"
2000 The Hunger Lisette Episode: "Double"
2001 The Beast Rita Episode: "The Delivery"
2001 The Parkers Show Host Episode: "Family Ties and Lies"
2002 ER Shane Episode: "Orion in the Sky"
2003 NYPD Blue Joyce Bradovich Episode: "I Kid You Not"
2004 Line of Fire Laurie McBride Episode: "Mother & Child Reunion"
2004 The Karate Dog COLAR Voice, television film
2005 CSI: NY Maddy Episode: "Corporate Warriors"
2006 Masters of Horror Judith Episode: "Fair-Haired Child"
2008–2009 House Janice Burke 3 episodes
2009 Prison Break Daddy Episodes: "The Final Break", "Free", "The Old Ball and Chain"
2009 The Cleaner 'Sunshine' Episodes: "Split Ends", "The Things We Didn't Plan"
2014–2019 Orange Is the New Black Lolly Whitehill Recurring role (19 episodes)
2016 Gotham Jeri Episode: "Wrath of the Villains: This Ball of Mud and Meanness"
2017 Hawaii Five-0 Jenny Kitson Episode: "Wehe 'ana (Prelude)"
2017 Transformers: Robots in Disguise Nightra Voice, episode: "Guilty as Charged"
2017 Danger & Eggs Ruelle, Madame Aubergine Voice, episode: "Morning Routine/Lost & Found"
2017 Swedish Dicks Madame Roux Episode: "Dial M for Medium"
2018 Robot Chicken Miss Grundy, Anna Mary Jones Voice, episode: "Never Forget"
2019 Summer Camp Island Ms. Pinch Voice, episode: "I Heart Heartforde"
2021 Immortal Compass Detective Williamson Episode: "Part 10: Closure"
2021 Station Eleven Sarah, The Conductor Main cast, miniseries

Video games
Year Title Role
2002 Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Leslie Willis / Livewire

References
  1. Albright-Hanna, Adam (October 21, 2013). "If This Is What 50 Looks Like, Aging Is Hot - Lori Petty". Purple Clover. Whalerock Industries. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Halpern Benenson, Laurie (July 5, 1992). "UP AND COMING: Lori Petty; In the Big Leagues As a Little Sister". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  3. Rosen, Lisa (June 19, 2008). "Lori Petty's hard look". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  4. "Lori Petty – Biography". Yahoo! TV. October 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  5. Durso, Joseph (August 18, 1998). "ON HORSE RACING; New Campaign Takes the Low Road". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  6. NTRA Commercial - Pay the Lady (YouTube). Merkley Newman Harty; National Thoroughbred Racing Association. April 2, 1998. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  7. Bauers, Sandy (August 8, 2002). "Evanovich's familiar characters make narrator confusion bearable". Chicago Tribune. Knight Ridder/Tribune News. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.