Biography

A comely brunette character player, Thompson gave up a ballet career for acting. After appearing in some 20 Burger King commercials, she gained attention in "All the Right Moves" (1983) as the girlfriend of high school football player Tom Cruise. Thompson played three versions of Lorraine (Bates) McFly in "Back to the Future" (1985), rose above lackluster material in "Howard the Duck" (1986) and demonstrated her ability to play more complex characters in "The Wizard of Loneliness" (1988). She demonstrated her dramatic range and brought grit to the role of a dying wife who selects Farrah Fawcett as her successor in the period western "The Substitute Wife" (ABC, 1994). In 1995, Thompson opted to head up the NBC sitcom "Caroline in the City", as the title character, Caroline Duffy, a cartoonist whose illustrations mirror her life. She is married to director Howard Deutch.

Filmography

Haunted Lighthouse (2003) .... Peg Van Legge
... aka R.L. Stein's Haunted Lighthouse (2003) (USA: complete title)
Electric (2002) .... Geri Meyers
"For the People" (2002) TV Series .... Camille Paris
Fish Don't Blink (2001) .... Clara

Intimate Portrait: Lea Thompson (1998) (TV) .... Herself
TV Guide Looks at Christmas (1998) (TV) .... (Host)
"Will of Their Own, A" (1998) (mini) TV Series .... Amanda Steward
Unknown Cyclist, The (1997) .... Melissa Cavatelli
TV Guide Looks at Christmas (1997) (TV) .... Host
Right to Remain Silent, The (1996) (TV) .... Christine Paley
Unspoken Truth, The (1995) (TV) .... Brianne Hawkins
... aka Living the Lie (1995) (TV) (USA: alternative title)
"Caroline in the City" (1995) TV Series .... Caroline Duffy
... aka "Caroline" (1995) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Little Rascals, The (1994) .... Ms. Roberts
Substitute Wife, The (1994) (TV) .... Amy Hightower
Beverly Hillbillies, The (1993) .... Laura Jackson
Dennis the Menace (1993) .... Alice Mitchell
... aka Dennis (1993) (UK)
Stolen Babies (1993) (TV) .... Annie Beales
Article 99 (1992) .... Dr. Robin Van Dorn
Back to the Future Part III (1990) .... Maggie McFly/Lorraine McFly
Montana (1990) (TV) .... Peg Guthrie

Back to the Future Part II (1989) .... Lorraine Baines (McFly) (Tannen)
Nightbreaker (1989) (TV) .... Sally Matthews
... aka Advance to Ground Zero (1989) (TV)
Wizard of Loneliness, The (1988) .... Sybil
Yellow Pages (1988) .... Marigold de la Hunt
... aka Going Undercover (1988) (USA)
Casual Sex? (1988) .... Stacy
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) .... Amanda Jones
Howard the Duck (1986) .... Beverly Switzler
... aka Howard: A New Breed of Hero (1986)
SpaceCamp (1986) .... Kathryn Fairly
Back to the Future (1985) .... Lorraine Baines-McFly
Wild Life, The (1984) .... Anita
Red Dawn (1984) .... Erica
All the Right Moves (1983) .... Lisa
... aka All Right (1983)
Jaws 3-D (1983) .... Kelly Ann Bukowski
... aka Jaws 3 (1983)
... aka Jaws III (1983)
MysteryDisc: Murder, Anyone? (1982) (V) .... Cecily 'Sissy' Loper