Laura Leighton

Laura Diane Leighton (born July 24, 1968) is an American actress. She played Sydney Andrews on the television series Melrose Place (1993–1997) and its remake (2009–2010), and Ashley Marin on Freeform's series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017).

Laura Leighton
Born
Laura Miller[1]

(1968-07-24) July 24, 1968
Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1998)​
Children2

Career
Laura Leighton shoots a scene for the film In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy.

In the early 1990s, Leighton's first on-screen jobs were in a commercial for Pizza Hut and Dep Hair Gel before taking her first major acting role as Sydney Andrews in the prime time soap opera Melrose Place. The part was originally intended for only two episodes in season 1, but was eventually developed into a full-time role for the subsequent seasons 2 to 5 (1993–97).[1] During the show's run, Leighton appeared on numerous magazine covers (including Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone and People). Leighton left the show at the end of the fifth season in 1997, which saw her character Sydney being struck and seemingly killed by a car, only moments after her wedding to Craig Field played by David Charvet.

During breaks while filming Melrose Place, Leighton starred in the made-for-television films, In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy for FOX as Laurette Wilder, a woman from a poor background who falls for a rich man to the disgust of his grandparents, and The Other Woman for CBS as Carolyn Bryan, a newly married model who finds herself making friends with her husband's dying ex-wife. She also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1995 with musical guest Rancid.

After leaving Melrose Place in 1997 at the end of her contract, Leighton accepted a six-episode role on Beverly Hills, 90210. Aaron Spelling created the role of aspiring actress Sophie Burns for her, and she reportedly received a six-figure salary per episode.[1] In 1999, she appeared in the independent short film Angels, Baby! directed by Jeff Fisher along with the Paul Lazarus-directed romantic comedy Seven Girlfriends opposite Tim Daly, and the thriller The Clean and Narrow opposite Jack Noseworthy which was released direct to video in early 2000.

In the 2000s, Leighton guest-starred in the shows Cupid and The Outer Limits, and voiced a part in the animated series Duckman. She later starred in the indie film The Sky Is Falling with Dedee Pfeiffer and Eric Close before taking a break to have her son Jack Douglas. In 2003, she returned to the small screen in SKIN for FOX, which was cancelled after three episodes, and in the short-lived 2005 ABC series Eyes.

In 2006–07, after her FOX pilot Damages with Cole Hauser was not picked up, she made numerous prime-time guest appearances, on shows such as the ABC drama/comedy Boston Legal, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Miami, and Shark. In 2004, she starred in the Lifetime movies A Deadly Encounter as Joanne Sanders, a single mother who is the victim of a stalker, and Love Notes, as Nora Flannery, a classic music critic who, while on a job, finds love with a popular country and western singer. Leighton also appeared in the thriller The Burrowers directed by J.T Petty and the Hallmark Channel movies Daniel's Daughter opposite Sebastian Spence and Mending Fences, opposite Angie Dickinson.

On April 5, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Leighton would appear in the 2009 series Melrose Place, reprising her role as the presumed-dead Sydney Andrews, who would serve as landlord at Melrose Place.[2] The remake only lasted a single season on The CW before being cancelled. On December 7, 2009, ABC Family announced that Leighton had been cast in a lead role in the TV series Pretty Little Liars, a TV adaptation of a book of the same name by Sara Shepard as Ashley Marin, the mother of Hanna Marin played by Ashley Benson, one of the four main characters on the show. Leighton stayed with Pretty Little Liars for all seven seasons until the show's end in June 2017.

In 2018, Leighton guest starred on the CBS medical drama Code Black playing Sonya Finn, the wife of a Hollywood actor, and then starred in the Hallmark Christmas movie Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane opposite Alicia Witt and Colin Ferguson and based on the book by author Mary McDonough. 2020 will see Leighton return to series TV in a guest spot on Spectrum's original series L.A.'s Finest playing Karen Scott.

Accolades

Following her performance in the second season of Melrose Place, Leighton was featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly's 1994 Fall TV Preview issue.[3] She appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with her co-stars Heather Locklear and Josie Bissett in May 1994, in an issue entitled "The Hot Issue".[4] In 1995, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her work on the series.[5] was named one of the most beautiful people in the world by People magazine,[6] and hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. The role of Sydney Andrews, which she signed on to reprise in the 2009 Melrose Place spin-off, has been recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of the most popular characters" from the original series.[2] The spin-off saw Leighton share the cover of the August 24, 2009 issue of TV Guide with her co-star Ashlee Simpson.

Personal life

Leighton was born Laurie Miller in Iowa City, Iowa, and is a 1986 graduate of West High School in Iowa City. During her time at West High, Leighton was a cheerleader and a member of the school's show choir, and performed numerous solos during her time with the group. Leighton then joined The Young Americans and was a member of their 1987 "Around the World in 80 days" show.

In 1988, Leighton assumed her maternal grandfather's surname.[1]

In May 1998, Leighton married her Melrose Place co-star Doug Savant. They have two children together: Jack and Lucy.[7]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Angels, Baby! Jessica
1999 Clean and Narrow Marie
2000 Seven Girlfriends Anabeth
2000 The Sky Is Falling Amber Lee
2008 The Burrowers Gertrude

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story Travel Agent Television film; uncredited
1993–1997 Melrose Place Sydney Andrews Guest star (season 1); recurring role (season 2); main role (seasons 3–5)
1994 Life with Louie: A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman N/A Voice role; television short
1995 The Other Woman Carolyn Television film
1995 In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy Laurette Wilder Television film
1995 Saturday Night Live various Host; episode: "Laura Leighton/Rancid"
1997 Duckman Ditzi Voice role; episode: "With Friends Like These"
1997 The Larry Sanders Show Herself Episode: "Artie and Angie and Hank and Hercules"
1998 Cupid Kristy Holbrook Unaired episode: "Botched Makeover"
1998 Beverly Hills, 90210 Sophie Burns Recurring role (season 9), 6 episodes
1998 Naked City: A Killer Christmas Gerry Millar Television film
2000 The Outer Limits Anne Marie Reynolds Episode: "Inner Child"
2000 Early Edition Ginger Episode: "Everybody Goes to Rick's"
2002 We'll Meet Again Fran Silman Television film
2003 Skin Cynthia Peterson 3 episodes
2004 Tru Calling Jordan Davies Episode: "Daddy's Girl"
2004 A Deadly Encounter Joanne Sanders Television film
2005 Eyes Leslie Town Main role
2006 CSI: Miami Alyssa Prince Episode: "Silencer"
2006 Boston Legal Erica Dolenz Episodes: "Lincoln", "On the Ledge"
2007 Shark Angela Corbin Episode: "Backfire"
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lillian Rice Episode: "Responsible"
2007 Love Notes Nora Flannery Television film
2008 Daniel's Daughter Cate Madighan Television film
2009 Mending Fences Kelly Fariday Television film
2009–2010 Melrose Place Sydney Andrews Recurring role, 7 episodes
2010–2017 Pretty Little Liars Ashley Marin Main role
2018 Code Black Sonya Episode: "Change of Heart"
2018 Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane Andie Television film
2020 L.A.'s Finest Karen Scott Episode: "For Life"

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
1995 Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Melrose Place Nominated

References
  1. "Laura Leighton biography". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  2. Andreeva, Nellie (April 5, 2009). "Laura Leighton Returns to Melrose Place". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. "Fall TV Preview". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
  4. "1994 Rolling Stone Covers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  5. "Laura Leighton profile". goldenglobes.org. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  6. "Most Beautiful, Laura Leighton". People. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
  7. Siegler, Bonnie. "Fame & Fortune: Laura Leighton". bankrate.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
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