TheMajestic

Background:

“There’s been a lot of great times and there’ve been some not so great times, and I am who I am today because of that, so it’s good not to forget.” Laurie Holden

First capturing attention with her recurring role of Marita Covarrubias on “The X-Files” (1996-2002), Californian-born actress Laurie Holden, whose role model is actress Jessica Lange, won widespread acclaim for playing Jim Carrey's long missing love in the Frank Darabont-directed drama “The Majestic” (2001). Since then, she has acted in such popular movies as “Fantastic Four” (2004), “Silent Hill” (2006) and “The Mist” (2007, again helmed by Darabont). Prior to her TV success, Holden netted a Gemini nomination for her guest starring role in the series ““Due South” (1995). She has played the regular role of Mary Travis on the short-lived Western series “The Magnificent Seven” (1998-2000).

5' 6½” former winner of Toronto's “Look of Year” modeling pageant was once named Entertainment Weekly's one of “100 Most Creative People in Hollywood” and Variety's one of “10 Actors To Watch.” She has dual citizenship with the United States and Canada. Holden has participated in children's charities such as Feed the Children and Planet Hope.

Look of Year

Childhood and Family:

Laurie Heather Holden was born on Decembe 17, 1972, in Los Angeles, California, to actors Larry Holden and Adrienne Ellis. Her celebrity parents divorced in 1977, when she was five years old. Shortly thereafter, her mother married British director Michael Anderson, making Laurie the stepsister of actor Michael Anderson Jr. and producer David Anderson. She also has a younger brother named Christopher and a half sister. After the marriage, Laurie divided her time between L.A. and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the teen girl became the winner of the “Look of Year” modeling pageant. She studied economics/political science at Montreal's McGill University, but transferred to UCLA after her freshman year. She received a BA in theater arts in 1993.

The X-Files

Career:

As the stepdaughter of moviemaker Michael Anderson, Laurie Holden spent much of her upbringing on film and television sets. Her first acting job arrived at age 8, when she was cast as the daughter of Rock Hudson in the NBC miniseries “The Martian Chronicles” (1980), helmed by her stepfather. Six years later, she made her first film appearance in Anderson's comedy, “Separate Vacations” (1986), starring David Naughton and Jennifer Dale.

Holden went on to appear in such projects as the Burt Reynolds crime/thriller vehicle “Physical Evidence” (1989), the Canadian TV series “Scales of Justice” (1990) and the TNT miniseries “Young Catherine” (1991), opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Julia Ormond and (again) directed by her step-father, although the passionate academic remained focus on her studies. In order to full fill her dream of becoming an investment banker, Holden majored in economics in college, but an unexpected shift to theater arts would change her life forever.

Upon completing her BA in theater arts at UCLA, Holden earned a place at the National Honor Society and was honored with the “Natalie Wood Award” for Best Actress. She then trained with Larry Moss at The Larry Moss Acting Studio and studied the classics at the Webber Douglas Academy of Art. The attractive actress returned to series TV with regular roles in the Canadian shows “Family Passions” and “Destiny Ridge” (both 1993) and played the supporting role of Rachel Tudor on the TV film “TekWar: TekLab” (1994). It was in 1995 that Holden offered a notable comedic turn as Jill Kennedy on an episode of the critically praised “Due South,” for which she was nominated for a 1996 Gemini for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series.

Following guest spots in TV series like “Highlander” (1995), “Murder, She Wrote” and “Two” (both 1996), Holden enjoyed her huge break when he was cast in the recurring role of informant Maria Covarrubias on the popular Fox series “The X-Files,” a role she portrayed from 1996 to 2002. This TV success paved the way for Holden's subsequent American projects. She played Mabel Dunham in the TV film remake of “The Pathfinder” (1996), had a supporting role in the Zale Dalen-directed action film “Expect No Mercy” (1996), appeared with Jack Wagner and Alexandra Paul in the drama-made-for-TV film “Echo” (1997), supported Tori Spelling and Jason Brooks for the poop drama telepic “Alibi” (1997) and costarred with Eric Roberts in independent film “Past Perfect” (1998) for director Jonathan Heap.

It was also in 1998 that Holden started her regular role as Mary Travis on the CBS series “ the “The Magnificent Seven,” based on the 1960 MGM classic of the same name. Costarring with Michael Biehn, Eric Close, Ron Perlman and Andrew Kavovit, she remained with the Western show until its final season in 2000. After the show was canceled, she took on a supporting role opposite William Devane and Rob Estes in the sci-fi/thriller made-for-TV-film “The Man Who Used to Be Me” (2000), but it was her next assignment that brought the active performer real attention. Spotted while performing on the stage production of “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof,” Holden scored her screen breakthrough with her starring role as Adele Stanton in director Frank Darabont's drama, “TheMajestic” (2001). As Jim Carrey's long lost love, she collected extensive critical acclaim, including a citation from the New York Times.

After the much-talk-about performance, Holden disappeared from the screen for several years. She made her comeback in 2005 with the hit adventure “Fantastic Four,” where she was cast as the girl friend of Michael Chiklis. The same year, she also starred along side Dean Cain in the Canadian family “Bailey's Billion$.” In 2006, Holden had a famous role as a police woman named Cybil Bennet in the critically torn but financially flourishing horror piece “Silent Hill” (2006), opposite Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean. She rejoined with “TheMajestic” director Darabont for the horror film “The Mist” (2007), costarring with Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden, and more recently, appeared as Billy in the indi-comedy “Meet Market” (2008), directed and written by Charlie Loventhal.

Awards:
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