Lea Thompson

Lea Thompson Headshot

Actress • Director • Producer

Birth Date: May 31, 1961

Age: 62 years old

Birth Place: Rochester, Minnesota

Children: Zoey Deutch

Lea Thompson became a cinematic darling of the 1980s, thanks to her star turns in such movies as "Back to the Future" (1985) and "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1987). A native Midwesterner who fell in love with dance at an early age, Thompson broke into the arts as a ballerina. When a career en pointe did not pan out, undaunted, she moved to New York and in relatively short time began raising eyebrows. Her fresh-scrubbed, all-American good-looks won her largely teen parts in a series of archetypal Eighties films, such as "All the Right Moves" (1983), and "Red Dawn" (1984). In 1995, she crossed over into series television as lead with the sitcom, "Caroline in the City" (NBC, 1995-99). In the 2000s, she re-established a serial presence on cable in the Hallmark Channel "Jane Doe" movie franchise, playing a suburban housewife drawn back into her old profession as a government agent. Known for a sparkling, dimpled smile, Thompson etched a lasting imprint as an accessible, Ivory Girl-esque dreamboat for young male moviegoers of the 1980s, going on to create a template for successfully shifting career gears later on.

Lea Katherine Thompson was born May 31, 1961, in Rochester, MN, to Barbara and Cliff Thompson, the fifth child of an already struggling family who, for the first year of her life, lived in a local motel. The Thompsons moved to Minneapolis but divorced when Lea was six. Barbara, though struggling with alcohol abuse, supported the family by playing piano and singing in local clubs. She soon remarried, to musician Rob Hanson, and Lea and two other siblings followed in her artistic footsteps, Thompson and brother Andrew gravitated towards dance, with the former beginning ballet classes when she was nine. By age 14, she was drawing the attention of the professional dance community, earning scholarships from two of the top ballets in the U.S.: New York's American Ballet Theatre and the San Francisco Ballet. She graduated from Minneapolis's Marshall-University High School at 16 to dance professionally and went on to perform with the Minnesota Dance Theatre and the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. But at 19, Thompson found her aspirations dashed when legendary dancer and the American Ballet Theatre's artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov rejected her from membership in the company, telling her that her body type was wrong for the art form. Thompson moved to New York, nevertheless, intent on pursuing the performing arts by other means. Initially waitressing to make ends meet, she wound up gaining a national audience in ads, most notably for Burger King and Twix candy bars.

In 1982, Thompson won her first role in a proto-"video game" - actually a sort of interactive movie - called "Murder, Anyone?" and a year later, won her first feature film with the sequel "Jaws 3-D" (1983), in which she played a Sea World waterskiing performer terrorized by yet another giant shark. Thompson caught more than viewers' eyes in the film, beginning a relationship with co-star Dennis Quaid. Though the film tanked, her sparkling all-American countenance put her much-in-demand for similar roles in a slate of films showcasing a new generation of Hollywood youth. In 1983, she won the role of up-and-comer Tom Cruise's faithful musician girlfriend in the high school football-themed film, "All the Right Moves," which memorably featured a flash of Cruise's frontal nudity during a Thompson/Cruise sex scene. The following year, she played C. Thomas Howell and Patrick Swayze's fellow Coloradoan teen freedom-fighter in the reactionary Cold War fantasy and cult classic, "Red Dawn," followed by the unattainable dream girl alongside Eric Stoltz and Chris Penn in the teensploitation flick, "The Wild Life" (1984).

In 1985, Thompson was paired with Stoltz again in a Robert Zemeckis-helmed time-traveling adventure, but weeks into production, Zemeckis decided Stoltz did not fit the comedic lead part of rambunctious loser Marty McFly. They defaulted to their original choice for the role, hot young sitcom star Michael J. Fox, whose TV schedule shifted only moderately to allow him to shoot the film. Thankfully, filming the sci-fi adventure at night while he shot "Family Ties" during the day (NBC, 1982-89) would pay off, vaulting him to overnight movie star upon release of "Back to the Future." Thompson would also enjoy escalated stardom with her classic portrayal of Lorraine McFly, matriarch of a struggling, oddball family, seen in two different time periods; in heavy, matronly makeup in the "present," and as a coquettish, quirky and unabashedly horny bobbysoxer who befriends the wayward Marty and attempts to seduce him in the "past." This flirtation affects a time paradox in which Marty's presence inadvertently gets in the way of his future mother and father's (Crispin Glover) coupling, making it imperative for Marty to hook them up to assure his own conception. Of the many classic scenes and lines, Glover's famous malapropism, declaring to Thompson, "You're my density," became a contemporary comic buzz phrase. Apart from looking fantastic in period clothes, Thompson dusted off her comic chops as the modern-day, overweight, chain-smoking Lorraine. For the still green actress, it was truly the part of a lifetime in what turned out to be the biggest moneymaker of 1985, making nearly $200 million in the U.S. alone."
Back to the Future" promoted Thompson to marquee-level billing, but, after another standard teen role in the family adventure "Space Camp" (1986) - which suffered a delayed release after the Jan. 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion - her first big-budget star-vehicle proved less than auspicious. Produced by George Lucas and pegged to the special effects of his mighty Industrial Light and Magic unit, "Howard the Duck" featured her opposite a cigar-chomping, humanoid-alien waterfowl. The $37 million that Universal Pictures pumped into the project wound up producing an unwatchable mess on such an epic scale, that along with "Heaven's Gate" (1980) and "Ishtar" (1987), it became an instant punchline and one of few cinematic bombs by which all others would be measured. Though Thompson availed herself well as the sultry rock singer who befriends Howard, it was not enough to buoy the film past nearly universal pans and public indifference, its failure leading to the resignation of Universal chief Frank Price. She returned to youthful angst in the Howard Deutch-directed, John Hughes-scripted "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1987), reteaming again with Stoltz, and followed that with the romantic comedy misfire "Casual Sex?" (1988) and a thriller opposite the father-son team of Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen in "Nightbreaker" (1989). In 1989, she married Howard Deutch, and they would begin a family with the birth of the first of two daughters two years later. She reprised Lorraine McFly in "Back to the Future Part II" (1989) and the third installment in 1990, which saw her take up an additional character of Maggie McFly, an Old West forebear of the family. Thompson went to work for her husband again in his 1992 feature "Article 99," joining the ensemble of young stars playing doctors who attempt to treat troubled veterans in a broken system.

Thompson's feature work diminished to essentially supporting roles in gimmick films: the title character's mother in "Dennis the Menace" (1993), a sexy grifter in the TV-retread "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993), and a ballet instructor in "The Little Rascals" (1994). In 1995, she essayed into a new medium, taking on a TV sitcom project, "Caroline in the City," built on the template of NBC's successful "Friends" (1994-2004), i.e. a mixed bag of mildly clever, amicable friends and their social hijinx in New York. In the title role, Thompson played an irrepressible, daffy cartoonist attempting to juggle romance while horning into the lives of various friends and strangers. The show drew critical fusillades, and, though NBC's initial slotting of it adjacent to "Friends" buoyed its first-year ratings, they slipped precipitously in each of its four seasons until "Caroline" would up No. 91 among broadcast primetime shows during the 1998-99 season. She did some minor movie work over the course of the show's run; most notably the NBC period miniseries "A Will of Their Own" (1998) and "The Unknown Cyclist" (1998), an indie slice-of-life tale of the impact of AIDS on the closest relations of one of its victims, with Thompson playing the dead man's ex-wife. She returned to the indie skein in 2002 with a quirky, comic performance as an addled murder witness on the run in "Fish Don't Blink," and to TV briefly playing a public prosecutor on Lifetime's courtroom drama series, "For the People" (2002-03).

In 2004, Thompson popped up in a three-episode guest role on the NBC comedy/drama "Ed" (2000-04), and the next year would find a new home on the Hallmark Channel's "Jane Doe: Vanishing Act" (2005). She played the title role, a.k.a. Kathy Davis, a one-time government agent, now retired to soccer-mom status, who is lured back into government work because of her ace mystery-solving skills. Though aired in two-hour movie form, the gig was actually a glorified episodic series, rotating with two other franchises in the Hallmark Channel Mystery Movies block. She would do another eight Jane Doe films through 2008 and even took a shot at the director's chair, helming two of the entries: "Jane Doe: Eye of the Beholder" (2006) and "Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall" (2008). In 2006, she appeared briefly on the short-lived Fox series "Celebrity Duets" (2006), a "reality" game show produced by "American Idol" (Fox, 2002- ) creator Simon Cowell that paired professional singers with non-musical celebrity performers for duet numbers. Unfortunately she was the second contestant voted off the show. She also peppered her schedule with some low-profile outings such as the road-comedy "California Dreaming" (2007), the Lifetime tearjerker "A Life Interrupted" (2007), the B-grade actioner "Exit Speed" (2008), the holiday fluff "The Christmas Clause" (2009), the indie potboiler "Fatal Secrets" (2009), the offbeat comedy "Splinterheads" (2009) and, for Hallmark again, the suspense thriller "Final Approach" (2007). She also trod familiar turf with featured supporting roles in largely kid-oriented films, such as "Spy School" (2008) and "Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer" (2010).

Credits

The Spencer SistersStream

Actor
Victoria Spencer
Series
2023
80%

Will TrentStream

Director
Series
2023
89%

Access Daily With Mario & Kit

Guest
Show
2022

Unplugging

Actor
Perkins
Movie
2022

Ten Tricks

Actor
Grace
Movie
2022

The Disappearance of Cari Farver

Actor
Nancy
Movie
2022

Expedition: Back to the FutureStream

Self
Series
2021

Resident AlienStream

Director
Series
2021
97%

Next Stop, ChristmasStream

Actor
Evelyn
Movie
2021

StargirlStream

Director
Series
2020
94%

Josh Gates Tonight

Guest
Show
2020

Star Trek: PicardStream

Director
Series
2020
89%

Dinner in America

Actor
Betty
Movie
2020

Today With Hoda & Jenna

Guest
Show
2019

SchooledStream

Director
Series
2019
73%

The Kids Are AlrightStream

Director
Series
2018
82%

25 Words or LessStream

Contestant
Game Show
2018

Little Women

Actor
Marmee
Movie
2018

Luis und die Aliens

Voice
Ms. Diekendaker
Movie
2018

Sierra Burgess Is a LoserStream

Actor
Mrs. Burgess
Movie
2018
59%

Young SheldonStream

Director
Series
2017

Daily Blast Live

Guest
Show
2017

Wrestling: WWE SmackDown!

Director
Show
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

The Year of Spectacular Men

Actor
Movie
2017

The Year of Spectacular Men

Director
Movie
2017

Literally, Right Before Aaron

Actor
Deb
Movie
2017

Who We Are Now

Actor
Alana
Movie
2017

American HousewifeStream

Director
Series
2016

The Dog Lover

Actor
Liz Holloway
Movie
2016

Keith Lemon's Back T'future Tribute

Guest
Show
2015

The MuppetsStream

Guest Star
Series
2015
64%

The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made

Actor
Show
2015

Celebrity Family FeudStream

Guest
Game Show
2015

Back in Time

Self
Movie
2015

ScorpionStream

Guest Star
Series
2014
61%

Les classiques du cinéma

Actor
Show
2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Guest
Talk
2014

Jane Doe

Actor
Kathy Davis/Jane Doe
Show
2014

Ping Pong Summer

Actor
Mrs. Miracle
Movie
2014

My Mother's Future Husband

Actor
Rene
Movie
2014

Left Behind

Actor
Irene Steele
Movie
2014

The GoldbergsStream

Director
Series
2013

The GoldbergsStream

Guest Star
Fran
Series
2013

The Queen Latifah Show

Guest
Talk
2013

Whose Line Is It Anyway?Stream

Guest
Series
2013

Hollywood Game Night

Guest
Game Show
2013

Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Actor
Movie
2013

Home & Family

Guest
Talk
2012

Bound by Flesh

Voice
Movie
2012

Love at the Christmas TableStream

Actor
Elissa Beth
Movie
2012

The Mortified Sessions

Guest
Show
2011

The Chew

Guest
Talk
2011

Switched at BirthStream

Actor
Kathryn Kennish
Series
2011

Switched at BirthStream

Director
Series
2011

The Marilyn Denis Show

Guest
Show
2011

The Cabin

Actor
Lily MacDougal
Movie
2011

Mayor Cupcake

Actor
Mary Maroni
Movie
2011

Mayor Cupcake

Executive Producer
Movie
2011

Game of Your Life

Actor
Abbie
Movie
2011

Thin Ice

Actor
Jo Ann Prohaska
Movie
2011

The Trouble With the Truth

Actor
Emily
Movie
2011

The Trouble With the Truth

Producer
Movie
2011

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Hollywood Uncensored

Guest
Show
2010

MN Original

Guest
Show
2010

Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer

Actor
Laura
Movie
2010

Cupcake WarsStream

Contestant
Reality
2009

Balancing the Books

Actor
Rebecca
Movie
2009

Splinterheads

Actor
Susan Frost
Movie
2009

Final Approach

Actor
Alicia Bender
Show
2008

Jane Doe: Eye of the Beholder

Actor
Cathy Davis/Jane Doe
Movie
2008

Jane Doe: Eye of the Beholder

Director
Movie
2008

Senior Skip Day

Actor
Cathleen
Movie
2008

Exit Speed

Actor
Maudie McMinn
Movie
2008

Doubting Thomas: Lies and Spies

Actor
Claire Miller
Movie
2008

The Christmas Clause

Actor
Sophie
Movie
2008

Fraud Squad TV

Host
Show
2007

Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda

Guest
Show
2007

GreekStream

Guest Star
April
Series
2007
75%

Head Case

Guest Star
Show
2007

Jane Doe: Ties That Bind

Actor
Cathy Davis/Jane Doe
Movie
2007

A Life Interrupted

Actor
Debbie Smith
Movie
2007

Out of Omaha

Actor
Ginger Gainor
Movie
2007

Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2007

Final Approach

Actor
Alicia Bender
Movie
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

Jane Doe: Yes, I Remember It Well

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2006

Dancing With the StarsStream

Contestant
Reality
2005

Robot ChickenStream

Guest Voice
Series
2005

American DadStream

Guest Voice
Caroline Duffy
Series
2005

Jane Doe: Vanishing Act

Actor
Kathy Davis/Jane Doe
Movie
2005

Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2005

Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2005

Jane Doe: The Wrong Face

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2005

Come Away Home

Actor
Carol
Movie
2005

Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall

Actor
Cathy Davis
Movie
2005

Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall

Director
Movie
2005

Stealing Christmas

Actor
Sarah Gibson
Movie
2003

For the People

Actor
Show
2002

Fish Don't Blink

Actor
Clara
Movie
2002

Ed

Guest Star
Show
2000

CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationStream

Guest Star
Series
2000

Law & Order: Special Victims UnitStream

Guest Star
Michelle Osborne
Series
1999
78%

Family Guy

Guest Voice
Lorraine McFly
Show
1999

Family GuyStream

Guest Voice
Lorraine McFly
Series
1999

A Will of Their Own

Actor
Show
1998

The Unknown Cyclist

Actor
Melissa Cavatelli
Movie
1998

Union Square

Guest Star
Series
1997

The Right to Remain Silent

Actor
Christine Paley
Movie
1996

Caroline in the CityStream

Actor
Caroline Duffy
Series
1995

The Unspoken TruthStream

Actor
Brianne Hawkins
Movie
1995

FriendsStream

Guest Star
Caroline Duffy
Series
1994
78%

La Sustituta

Actor
Movie
1994

En Busca de una Esposa Sustituta

Actor
Movie
1994

The Substitute Wife

Actor
Amy Hightower
Movie
1994

Stolen Babies

Actor
Annie Beales
Movie
1993

Dennis the Menace

Actor
Mrs. Alice Mitchell
Movie
1993

The Beverly Hillbillies

Actor
Laura Jackson/Laurette Voleur
Movie
1993

Article 99

Actor
Dr. Robin Van Dorn
Movie
1992

Montana

Actor
Peg Guthrie
Movie
1990

Back to the Future Part IIIStream

Actor
Maggie McFly/Lorraine McFly
Movie
1990
80%

The Joan Rivers ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1989

Tales From the Crypt

Actor
Series
1989
82%

Nightbreaker

Actor
Sally Matthews
Movie
1989

Back to the Future Part IIStream

Actor
Lorraine Baines/McFly/Tannen
Movie
1989
63%

Le Souffle de l'enfer

Actor
Movie
1989

Háblame de Sexo

Actor
Movie
1988

Casual Sex?

Actor
Stacy
Movie
1988

The Wizard of Loneliness

Actor
Sybil
Movie
1988

Going Undercover

Actor
Marigold de la Hunt
Movie
1988

Some Kind of WonderfulStream

Actor
Amanda Jones
Movie
1987
76%

Campamento Espacial

Actor
Movie
1986

SpaceCamp

Actor
Kathryn Fairly
Movie
1986

Howard the Duck

Actor
Beverly Switzler
Movie
1986

Back to the FutureStream

Actor
Lorraine Baines McFly
Movie
1985
93%

Juventud Salvaje

Actor
Movie
1984

Red DawnStream

Actor
Erica
Movie
1984
52%

The Wild Life

Actor
Anita
Movie
1984

Jaws 3-DStream

Actor
Kelly Ann Bukowski
Movie
1983
11%

All the Right MovesStream

Actor
Lisa
Movie
1983
63%

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutLea Thompson