Lolita Davidovich

Following a string of bit roles in a number of feature films, actress Lolita Davidovich delivered a breakout performance as a burlesque stripper in "Blaze" (1989), a commercial failure that nonetheless introduced her to future husband, director Ron Shelton. After replacing a stricken Elizabeth Perkins in the romantic comedy "The Object of Beauty" (1991), Davidovich made an appearance in "JFK" (1991) before earning critical acclaim for her starring role as an inmate in "Prison Stories: Women on the Inside" (HBO, 1991). She next supported Jonathan Lithgow in "Raising Cain" (1992) and Steve Martin in "Leap of Faith" (1993) before reuniting with Shelton for the biopic "Cobb" (1994). Turning to the small screen, Davidovich appeared in the award-winning "Indictment: The McMartin Trial" (HBO, 1995) and the hostage drama "Deadly Silence" (HBO, 1997) before joining the cast of the critically acclaimed drama "Gods and Monsters" (1998). She began to segue out of film following "Play it to the Bone" (1999) and "Hollywood Homicide" (2003), both directed by her husband, to focus on television roles on small screen fare like "The L Word" (Showtime, 2004-09), "Dirty Sexy Money" (ABC, 2007-09) and "Cinema Verite" (HBO, 2011). Though often relegated to smaller supporting roles later in her career, Davidovich very much remained in demand on both the big and small screens.

Born on July 15, 1961 in Ontario, Canada, Davidovich was raised by Serbian parents who emigrated from the former Yugoslavia prior to her birth. She eventually made her way to New York City, where she studied acting at HB Studios before finding her way to Chicago, where she performed in workshops with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Victory Garden Theatre. After touring the Far East and Europe, she made the big move to Los Angeles where she began appearing on screen, starting with a bit part as a girl in a motel in the teen comedy "Class" (1983). Davidovich next appeared in the television movie "Two Fathers' Justice" (NBC, 1985), before landing small parts in features like "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987) and "The Big Town" (1987). She had her breakthrough role in "Blaze" (1989), a true-to-life telling of the curious, but secretive relationship between flamboyant Louisiana governor Earl Long (Paul Newman) and famed burlesque stripper Blaze Starr (Davidovich). Though highly fictionalized, the film nonetheless allowed the young actress to deliver a quality performance opposite a major Hollywood star. But the commercial failure of "Blaze" nearly put the brakes on her nascent career.

Davidovich followed with several parts in offbeat films, replacing an ailing Elizabeth Perkins in the atypical romantic comedy, "The Object of Beauty" (1991) and starring role opposite Tom Hulce in the Soviet-set drama "The Projectionist" (1991). After portraying a witness in Dealey Plaza in Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991), she made the leap to television and earned a coveted CableACE Award nomination for her performance as an inmate in "Prison Stories: Women on the Inside" (HBO, 1991). Back in features, Davidovich played the adulterous wife of a potentially psychotic child psychologist (John Lithgow) in Brian De Palma's absurdly over-the-top thriller "Raising Cain" (1992). She had a supporting role as a small town waitress with a crippled brother in the engaging, but ultimately unsuccessful Steve Martin vehicle "Leap of Faith" (1992). Moving increasingly into popular fare, she was cast as the hooker girlfriend of cop Wesley Snipes in the tepid crime drama "Boiling Point" (1993) and as the other woman coming between a married couple (Richard Gere and Sharon Stone) in "Intersection" (1994). After a supporting role in husband Ron Shelton's uneven biopic "Cobb" (1994), starring Tommy Lee Jones as the erratic baseball legend, Davidovich had a small role as the newly divorced mother of a strange girl (Gaby Hoffman) who grows up to be a science fiction writer (Demi Moore) in the coming-of-age drama "Now and Then" (1995).

Following a turn as James Woods' ditsy wife in Jason Alexander's "For Better or Worse" (1995), Davidovich returned to the small screen to earn respectable reviews as the social worker counseling abused children in the award-winning "Indictment: The McMartin Trial" (HBO, 1995). She went on to play an FBI agent who befriends an Amish widow (Patty Duke) in "Harvest of Fire" (CBS, 1996) before portraying a tough-talking woman who is not what she appears to be in the hostage drama "Deadly Silence" (HBO, 1997). Davidovich next branched out into more comedic roles with performances in the New Age romance "Santa Fe" (1997) opposite Gary Cole, the children's adventure "Jungle2Jungle" (1997) with Tim Allen and JoBeth Williams, and Paul Schrader's "Touch" (1997), opposite Skeet Ulrich, Christopher Walken and Bridget Fonda. She kept her career momentum going with appearances in episodes of the anthology series "Perversions of Science" (HBO, 1997) and the short-lived "Beggars and Choosers" (Showtime, 1999-2000). She gathered renewed attention for her supporting work in "Gods and Monsters" (1998), the much-heralded biopic of "Frankenstein" director James Whale (Ian McKellan) in which Davidovich played the frustrated ex of Whale's new gardener (Brendan Fraser), with whom he strikes up an unorthodox relationship.

Davidovich professionally reunited with husband Ron Shelton for his boxing comedy "Play it to the Bone" (1999), playing the road-tripping girlfriend of a prizefighter (Antonio Banderas) looking for one last shot. Following a turn opposite Russell Crowe in acclaimed television writer David E. Kelley's big screen hockey comedy "Mystery, Alaska" (1999), she returned to the small screen for the well-received NBC miniseries "Steve Martini's The Judge" (NBC, 2001), which starred Edward James Olmos as an arrogant, but brilliant Superior Court judge forced to hire his idealistic nemesis (Chris Noth) to defend him against trumped-up charges. Following a recurring role on the first season of the ratings-challenged CIA drama "The Agency" (CBS, 2001-03), Davidovich worked with Shelton yet again on two high-profile projects. First up was the intense "Dark Blue" (2002) in which she effectively played the long-suffering prison guard wife of Kurt Russell's corrupt Los Angeles detective amid the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. She also re-joined Shelton with an appearance in the crime comedy "Hollywood Homicide" (2003), opposite Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett, which earned the scorn of critics and failed at the box office.

Following the disaster of "Hollywood Homicide," which effectively put the brakes on her husband's directing career, Davidovich turned almost exclusively to the small screen, where she had a recurring role as the lover of Marina Ferrer (Karina Lombard) during the first season of "The L Word" (Showtime, 2004-09). She next landed episodes of "The Guardian" (CBS, 2001-04) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) before being featured more prominently with recurring roles on the short-lived "Quarterlife" (NBC, 2008) and "Dirty Sexy Money" (ABC, 2007-09). Davidovich was seen in episodes of sturdier ratings winners like "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 2005- ), "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO, 2000- ) and "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-10) before joining the cast of the acclaimed cable movie "Cinema Verite" (HBO, 2011). Starring Tim Robbins, Diane Lane and James Gandolfini, the film told the behind-the-scenes story of the filming of "An American Family" (PBS, 1973), a documentary that showed the daily happenings of the Loud family from central California, which was long considered to be the first-ever reality series.