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Laura Elena Harring (born March 3, 1964) is a Mexican American actress and former Miss USA (1985). She starred as Rita Camilla Rhodes in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive Exuding an old school sexuality a la Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth, actress Laura Elena Harring launched her career by making history as the first Latina to be crowned Miss USA in 1985. A year after her reign, the striking brunette married a German count and swiftly began her acting career playing Raul Julia's wife in the NBC TV-movie "The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory" (1987). After clashing with her husband over her desire to pursue an acting career, Harring obtained a divorce and landed the lead in "The Forbidden Dance" (1990), as well as a one-year stint on the daytime serial, "General Hospital" (ABC, 1963- ). Her career officially took off, however, after she landed one of the leads in the David Lynch TV pilot, "Mulholland Dr." in 1999. When ABC passed on the project, Lynch received funding from producer Alain Sarde and StudioCanal to expand the material into a feature film, which was released to glowing reviews in 2001. From there, Harring was able to secure bigger and better projects, ever increasing her profile as an up-and-coming actress with an exquisite look and unique, sexy style. Harring was born Laura Elena Herring in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. Her mother, María Martínez, is a Mexican psychotherapist, real estate investor, and secretary, and her father, Raymond Herring, was a developer and organic farmer of Austrian descent. The two divorced in 1971. Harring lived the first ten years of her life in Mexico, before her family relocated to San Antonio, Texas. Caught by stray fire from a driveby shooting at age 12, Harring suffered a bullet wound to the head. Herring was born on March 3, 1964 and raised in Los Mochis, Mexico. After her parents' divorce and mother's remarriage, her family relocated to Texas. Shortly after settling in San Antonio, Harring was the victim of a drive-by shooting when she was 12, suffering a head wound. Following her recovery, she was educated at boarding schools in Texas and at Aiglon College Villars in Switzerland, before winding up at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She eventually traveled the world, and while working as a restaurant cashier in the Philippines, was briefly detained by her love-smitten boss who had confiscated her passport. It was returned to her after her mother intervened. Returning to the United States, Harring found employment as a sales clerk in a clothing store. On a dare, she entered a local beauty pageant and won. One pageant led to another and she eventually represented Texas in the Miss USA contest. At age 16, she convinced her family to let her study in Switzerland at one of the top schools, Aiglon College. She eventually returned to America, settling down in El Paso, Texas and entered the world of beauty pageants. She won the title of Miss El Paso USA, and soon after, Miss Texas USA. In 1985 she became the first Hispanic to win the Miss USA crown. She is the first of Texas Aces. She went on to make the top 10 at the Miss Universe 1985 pageant. Harring spent the next year traveling through Asia, exploring Europe and working as a social worker in India. It was in Europe that she was introduced to the world of nobility and, in 1987, she married Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck-Schönhausen. While she retains the title of Countess von Bismarck-Schönhausen, the couple divorced in 1989 but still remain friends. Harring studied theatre at the London Academy of Performing Arts and is skilled in the French style of Commedia dell'arte, as well as in most of the Latin dances, including the Argentine Tango. Harring had two recurring TV roles early in her career. During 1990-1991, she played Carla Greco on ABC's soap General Hospital, and during 1997, she played Paula Stevens on NBC's soap Sunset Beach. She is best known for her performance in David Lynch's cult film Mulholland Drive (2001), opposite Naomi Watts and Justin Theroux. Controversy arose when Lynch pixelized Harring's pubic area in a nocturnal nude scene on the DVD release of the film – one of very few instances of cinematic nudity by a countess. Harring went on to work two more times with Lynch - as an anthropomorphic rabbit in Rabbits (2002) and in a cameo appearance in Inland Empire (2006). In 2003, she starred in Mi Casa, Su Casa together with Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie fame. In 2004, she starred as John Travolta's spoiled wife in the movie adaptation of Marvel Comics's The Punisher. In "The Punisher" (2004) – the second big-screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' gun-toting anti-hero – Harring was again a lovely vision onscreen and displayed a provocative and simmering chemistry with co-star John Travolta while playing his villainous character's wife, Livia Saint. Indeed, the film initially seemed to promise that Harring would end up as evil, or worse, as Travolta, but the script ultimately did not deliver. After a turn opposite Gael Garcia Bernal in "The King" (2005), she joined the cast of FX's gritty police drama, "The Shield" in a recurring role as a defense attorney for wrongly-accused Detective Curtis “Lemonhead” Lemansky (Kenneth Johnson), who constantly clashes with Strike Team leader Vic Macky (Michael Chiklis) over his lies and deceptions. Meanwhile, she made a return to features with “Nancy Drew” (2007), playing a murdered actress whose death is investigated by a quirky tweener detective (Emma Roberts) newly relocated to cliquey Hollywood High. In 2006, she joined the cast of the FX Networks crime drama, The Shield. She has most recently starred in Mike Newell's adaptation of Gabriel García Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera (2007). |
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