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Lori Petty

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Lori Petty
colour portrait photograph of Lori Petty taken in 2023
Petty in 2023
Born (1963-10-14) October 14, 1963 (age 61)[1]
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1984–present

Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963)[1] is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1990 comedy film Cadillac Man and later starred in films Point Break (1991), A League of Their Own (1992), Free Willy (1993), In the Army Now (1994), The Glass Shield (1994) and played the title role in Tank Girl (1995). She created and starred in the short-lived Fox sitcom Lush Life in 1996 and acted in number of independent movies in her later career.

In 2008, Petty wrote and directed independent drama film The Poker House based on her early life during the 1970s. In 2014 she joined the Netflix comedy-drama 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

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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 addicted to drugs and became a sex worker, which left the young Petty responsible for her younger sisters.[3] Petty graduated from North High School in Sioux City, Iowa in 1981. She worked in Omaha, Nebraska as a graphic designer for several years before pursuing acting.[2]

Career

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Petty got her break playing a terrorist named Skunk on the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children in 1985.[4] She later made guest starring appearances on television series such as The Equalizer, The Twilight Zone, Head of the Class, Miami Vice and Freddy's Nightmares. In 1987 she starred in the made-for-television horror film Bates Motel.[5] The following year she appeared in the made-for-television movie Police Story: Monster Manor, and was regular cast member in the short-lived comedy series, The Thorns.[6] In 1989, Petty co-starred in the made-for-television movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder and from 1989 to 1990 was regular cast member in the Fox crime drama, Booker.[7]

In 1990, Petty made her film debut as Robin Williams's wannabe fashion designer girlfriend in the dark comedy Cadillac Man. The following year, Petty played the surfer who taught Keanu Reeves how to surf in the 1991 action thriller Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow. In 1992, Petty starred in the sports comedy-drama film, A League of Their Own directed by Penny Marshall starring opposite Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $132.4 million worldwide.[8] The following year she went to star in the family drama film Free Willy. Released on July 16, 1993, the film received positive attention from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $153.7 million from a $20 million budget.[9][10] Later that year, Petty had supporting role in the romantic drama film Poetic Justice directed by John Singleton. In 1994 she starred in the police drama film The Glass Shield. It received positive reviews but was released only in selected theatres.[11][12] Also in 1994, Petty starred in the comedy film In the Army Now. It was universally panned by critics but grossed $28,881,266 at the box office.[13][14]

Petty at the 2017 Wizard World Columbus

In 1995, Petty played the title role in Tank Girl, an adaptation of the British cult comic book of the same name, directed by Rachel Talalay. Financially unsuccessful, Tank Girl recouped only about $6 million of its $25 million budget at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics.[15] Despite the box-office failure of the film, it has since become a cult classic and has been noted for its feminist themes.[7] The following year, Petty returned to television starring and creating the short-lived sitcom Lush Life with her friend Karyn Parsons, but it was cancelled after five episodes. She went to star in smaller-scale thriller films Countdown (1996), The Arrangement (1999), Firetrap (2001), and Route 666 (2001). She also was featured in the independent films Relax... It's Just Sex (1998), Clubland (1999), MacArthur Park (2001), and Prey for Rock & Roll (2003). In 2001, she made her directorial debut with the drama film Horrible Accident.[6]

Petty made guest-starring appearances in a number of television series, include Profiler, Star Trek: Voyager, ER and NYPD Blue. 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.[16][17] Petty also provided the voice of the supervillain Livewire on the Warner Bros. series Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and the video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips. 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.[18] From 1998 to 1999 she had the recurring role on Brimstone as the owner of Stone's hotel. 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 in 2002. C. J. Critt read the unabridged version for Recorded Books. Petty read the abridgments for Simon & Schuster.[19] In 2006 she starred in The Fair Haired Child, the episode of Showtime horror-anthology series, Masters of Horror. She had the recurring role as Janice Burke, a woman with Huntington's Disease, in the Fox series, House from 2008 to 2009, and the following year played the role of "Daddy", an alpha female inmate, in Prison Break and its spin-off movie, Prison Break: The Final Break.

Petty directed and wrote the 2008 independent drama film The Poker House – a film dramatizing her own difficult childhood[3] – won awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival. it starred Jennifer Lawrence, Selma Blair and Chloë Grace Moretz. The film received mixed reviews from critics.[20]

In 2014, Petty was cast as Lolly Whitehill, an inmate with an interest in conspiracy theories in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black.[7] She was a guest star in the second season, and a recurring character in the third, fourth and seventh seasons appearing total in 24 episodes. Along with cast she received Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2016 and 2017. She also made guest-starring appearances on Gotham, Hawaii Five-0 and Swedish Dicks. She appeared in horror films Dead Awake (2016), A Deadly Legend (2020) and You're All Gonna Die (2023). In 2021, she starred in the HBO miniseries Station Eleven.[21]

Filmography

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Film

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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 Nominated — Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Actress
Poetic Justice Penelope
1994 The Glass Shield Deputy Deborah Fields
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
Clubland India
2001 MacArthur Park Kelly
Firetrap Lucy
Route 666 Deputy U.S. Marshal Stephanie 'Steph'
Horrible Accident Six Also director and writer
2003 Prey for Rock & Roll Faith
2006 Cryptid Dr. Lean Carlin
2007 Broken Arrows Erin
2008 The Poker House Writer/director
Nominated — Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Award for Best Narrative Feature
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
2023 You're All Gonna Die Donatella
TBA Tonic[22] Elise Poe Post-production

Television

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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"
Bates Motel Willie Television film
Head of the Class Molly 2 episodes
1988 The Thorns 'Cricket' Henshaw Regular role (12 episodes)
Miami Vice Carol Episode: "Love at First Sight"
Freddy's Nightmares Chris Ketchum Episode: "Killer Instinct"
Police Story: Monster Manor Jeannie Pardonales Television film
1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder Cassie Television film
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 Episode: "Venom"
Superman: The Animated Series Leslie Willis / Livewire[23] 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"
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"
Nominated — Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode
2004 Line of Fire Laurie McBride Episode: "Mother & Child Reunion"
The Karate Dog COLAR Voice, television film[23]
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 3 episodes
The Cleaner 'Sunshine' 2 episodes
2014–2019 Orange Is the New Black Lolly Whitehill Recurring role (24 episodes)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2016–2017)
2016 Gotham Jeri Episode: "Wrath of the Villains: This Ball of Mud and Meanness"
2017 Hawaii Five-0 Jenny Kitson Episode: "Wehe 'ana (Prelude)"
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Nightra Voice, episode: "Guilty as Charged"[23]
Danger & Eggs Ruelle, Madame Aubergine Voice, episode: "Morning Routine/Lost & Found"
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"
Station Eleven Sarah, The Conductor Main cast, miniseries
2023 Obliterated Crazy Susan Episode: "Walks of Shame"
2024 NCIS: Origins Dr. Lenora Friedman Recurring role

Video games

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Year Title Role
2002 Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Leslie Willis / Livewire[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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 Hails From Green Acres, Finds Greener Pastures in 'Point'". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1991.
  5. ^ "Bates Motel (1987)". culturecrypt.com.
  6. ^ a b "Lori Petty Biography". AllMovie.
  7. ^ a b c "'If you want the girl next door, go next door': Lori Petty on Station Eleven and surviving Hollywood". The Guardian. March 13, 2022.
  8. ^ "A League of Their Own". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "Free Willy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Free Willy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Lindsey, Craig (April 26, 2021). "The Glass Shield: a forgotten 90s drama shows the danger of broken policing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "The Glass Shield". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "In the Army Now". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "In the Army Now". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tank Girl". Rotten Tomatoes.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ NTRA Commercial - Pay the Lady (YouTube). Merkley Newman Harty; National Thoroughbred Racing Association. April 2, 1998. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  18. ^ "Lori Petty – Biography". Yahoo! TV. October 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "The Poker House". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Lori Petty carves out a niche all her own - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (December 9, 2023). "'Gossip Girl' Star Ed Westwick, 'Doc Holliday' Actor Billy Blair Thriller 'Tonic' Sales Boarded by Oceana Studios (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  23. ^ a b c d "Lori Petty (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 10, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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