Lori singer biography actress footloose

Lori Singer will forever be known for her role as Ariel Moore, the rebellious daughter of a small-town reverend in Footloose, but she’s had a fascinating career outside of the ’80s classic.

The actress, who started out with a two-season stint on Fame from 1982 to 1983, was born into a musical family, with a virtuoso violinist and conductor father, Jacques Singer, and a pianist mother. She quickly proved her own musical talents, and was a gifted cellist who was admitted to the prestigious Juilliard School at just 14 years old.

Here’s a look at how Lori Singer went from musical prodigy to movie star, along with an update on what she’s doing now.

MUST-READ: ‘Footloose’ Just Turned 40! Here, 10 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets About the Movie

Lori Singer: From music to movies

The tall, blonde and blue-eyed actress started out as a model in the early ’80s, but quickly switched to acting, and made her debut in the 1982 TV movie Born Beautiful. She was then cast as a high school dancer and cellist in the Fame TV show — a role that was written specifically to showcase her musical talent. 

In 1984, Singer starred in Footloose, opposite Kevin Bacon. Looking back at her breakout role, she said, “Ariel has no hesitation. She’s at an age where she will question, and she will challenge. And she’s also a little bit wilder than the place where she’s from. She doesn’t really follow rules well.” This quality made her a character audiences related to and rooted for, and it wasn’t long before she was an ’80s it girl.

Singer’s next role was in the 1985 spy film The Falcon and the Snowman. She then appeared in the comedy The Man With One Red Shoe that same year, but it flopped at the box office. Her other films of the era were Trouble in Mind (1985), Summer Heat (1987), Made in U.S.A. (1987) and Warlock (1989), none of which made the same impact as Footloose. 

What

After starting her career as a concert cellist, ethereal actress Lori Singer made the smooth transition to the screen with a handful of supporting parts that later helped her land leading roles. Singer came to acting via Juilliard and a brief stint as a fashion model, before making her series debut as a naïve Midwesterner trying to make good in the big city on the short-lived drama "Fame" (NBC, 1982-83). But her leading role in the hit movie, "Footloose" (1984) helped propel her career to greater heights.

Singer next delivered co-starring performances in "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985) and "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985), while earning critical praise for her turn in the otherwise mediocre noir "Summer Heat" (1987). Following appearances in little-seen indies like "Equinox" (1992) and "Sunset Grill" (1993), Singer gave arguably one of her finest performances as a depressed cellist in Robert Altman's excellent ensemble drama, "Short Cuts" (1993).

Following a brief return to series television with "VR.5" (Fox, 1995), Singer left the acting business altogether in order to refocus on performing music, only to re-emerge in 2011 with a guest starring performance on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ), which sparked renewed interest in the enigmatic actress' career.

Born on Nov. 6, 1957 in Corpus Christi, TX, Singer was raised by her father, Jacques Singer, an orchestra conductor and former student of Leopold Stokowski, and her mother, Leslie, a concert pianist. Her older brother Marc Singer would go on to achieve his own success as an actor, most notably as the lead hero in the feature "The Beastmaster" (1982) and the miniseries phenomenon "V" (NBC, 1983) and "V: The Final Battle" (NBC, 1984). Because of their father's chosen profession, the family moved about the country often, taking up residence in Oregon, Louisiana and New York.

Growing up in the presence of such classical music heavyweights as Leonard Bernstein, she began st

American actress and classical musician (born 1957)

Lori Singer (born November 6, 1957) is an American actress and musician. The daughter of conductor Jacques Singer, she was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and raised in Portland, Oregon, where her father served as the lead conductor of the Oregon Symphony from 1962 to 1972. Singer was a musical prodigy, making her debut as a cellist with the Oregon Symphony at thirteen, and was subsequently accepted to the Juilliard School, where she became the institution's youngest graduate.

In the early 1980s, she signed with Elite Model Management before shifting her focus to acting. She was cast as Julie Miller, a teenage dancer and cellist, in the television series Fame, in which she appeared between 1982 and 1983. Singer gained notice for her lead role as Ariel Moore in the musical drama film Footloose (1984). She was later cast in supporting roles in John Schlesinger's drama The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), the comedy The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), the horror film Warlock (1989), and Robert Altman's ensemble drama Short Cuts (1993). She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Trouble in Mind (1985).

Early life

Singer was born November 6, 1957 in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Jacques Singer, a Polish-born conductor and protégé of Leopold Stokowski, and Leslie (née Wright), a concert pianist. She has a fraternal twin brother, Gregory, a violinist; and two older brothers: actor Marc, and Claude. At the time of her birth, Singer's father was working as the conductor of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra. Singer is of Jewish descent.

When Singer was four years old, she relocated with her family to Portland, Oregon, where her father served as lead conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra from 1962 to 1972. Singer spent her formative years in Portland, an