Biography

Laura San Giacomo was born November 14, 1962 in West Orange, New Jersey, and was raised in the nearby city of Denville. She went to Morris Knolls High School in Denville, where she first got into acting, playing the lead in several school plays. She carried the interest on to college, where she completed a fine arts degree with an emphasis on acting at Carnegie-Mellon University.

After early guest appearances in the series Crime Story and The Equalizer, Laura became a 1999 Golden Globe nominee as Best Actress in a Series (Comedy or Musical). San Giacomo made an impressive film debut playing a barmaid who has an affair with her sister’s (Andi MacDowell) husband (Peter Gallagher) in the 1989 breakthrough independent film "sex, lies and videotape." Critics and fans alike were quickly drawn to one of the sexiest, most sensuous actresses to hit the screen in a long time. The role, which garnered her a Golden Globe nomination, remains probably her best known role.
The film won the Palme D’Or grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival and earned the actress the prestigious New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Next, she was Julia Roberts's friend in Pretty Woman. Succeeding films included Quigley Down Under (alongside Tom Selleck, Under Suspicion, and Stuart Saves His Family. In 1994, she finally got to play a starring role - the title character in a small independent film called Nina Takes a Lover. Unfortunately, the film was not a commercial success despite being beautifully made and featuring one of Laura's most endearing performances yet.
Laura also appeared in the The Apocalypse (1997) and she recently completed Mom’s on the Roof, a film produced by Penny Marshall, which also stars Elle Macpherson and Adam Arkin.

Television work of hers includes the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand and the telefilms The Right To Remain Silent and For Their Own Good. In 1997, she made her sitcom debut in Just Shoot Me with George Segal and David Spade. The main factor in Laura's decision to do a sitcom was the birth of her first child. Television would provide a much more conventional work schedule and a more stable environment, for her both Laura and her baby.
She and son Mason currently live in the San Fernando Valley.

Filmography

Jenifer (2001) (TV) .... Jenifer Estess
Sister Mary Explains It All (2001) (TV) .... Angela DiMarco

"Stories from My Childhood" (1998) TV Series .... Bandit Girl
... aka "Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood" (1998) (USA: complete title)
Gargoyles: Brothers Betrayed (1998) (V) (voice) .... Fox
"Hollywood Squares" (1998) TV Series .... Guest Regular
With Friends Like These... (1998) .... Joanne Hersh
Apocalypse, The (1997) .... Goad
Eat Your Heart Out (1997) .... Jaqueline
Suicide Kings (1997) .... Lydia
"Just Shoot Me" (1997) TV Series .... Maya Gallo
"Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles" (1996) TV Series (voice) (uncredited) .... Fox
Right to Remain Silent, The (1996) (TV) .... Nicole Savita
Good, the Bad & the Beautiful, The (1996) (TV) .... Narrator
Stuart Saves His Family (1995) .... Julia
"Gargoyles" (1994) TV Series (voice) (uncredited) .... Fox Renard-Xanatos
Nina Takes a Lover (1994) .... Nina
"Stand, The" (1994) (mini) TV Series .... Nadine Cross
... aka "Stephen King's The Stand" (1994) (mini)
For Their Own Good (1993) (TV) .... Jo Mandell
Where the Day Takes You (1992) .... The Interviewer
Under Suspicion (1992) .... Angeline
Once Around (1991) .... Jan Bella
Quigley Down Under (1990) .... Crazy Cora
... aka Quigley (1990) (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (1990) (Australia)
Vital Signs (1990) .... Lauren Rose
Pretty Woman (1990) .... Kit De Luca

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) .... Cynthia Bishop