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Ashley Laurence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Ashley Lawrence, see Ashley Lawrence (disambiguation).
Ashley Laurence
Laurence in 2009
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active1984–present
Known forHellraiser franchise

Ashley Laurence is an American actress and visual artist. She made her film debut in 1987 as the lead character, Kirsty Cotton, in Clive Barker's horror film Hellraiser (1987), a role she later reprised in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), and Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002). The film franchise established her as a prominent actress in horror, and she subsequently starred in Mikey (1992) and Lurking Fear (1994).

Laurence's other notable film roles include Jenny Graves in Lightning Bug (2004) and Mrs. McCormack in Red (2008). In addition to film, Laurence has had guest appearances on several television series including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1996), Suddenly Susan (1997), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1999).

In addition to acting in live action film and television, Laurence made her voice acting debut as Missy Carter in the video game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014). Six years later, she returned to voice acting for the animated comedy television series JJ Villard's Fairy Tales (2020) which premiered on Adult Swim.

She was confirmed to appear on the second season of the Shudder anthology series Creepshow (2021).

Career

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Laurence began her career with guest roles on television series. In 1984, she made her acting debut with a recurring role on the CBS soap opera Capitol as Brenda Clegg. In 1986, Laurence had a guest appearance as Genna in an episode of the television series Highway to Heaven. In 1987, she made her film debut as the heroine Kirsty Cotton in Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987). She starred alongside Clare Higgins and Doug Bradley as Pinhead. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning more than $14 million[1][2] at the American box office. When discussing how she obtained the part, in a retrospective interview Laurence credited Barker for her being cast as the lead, stating:

"I had been in a teenage drama workshop because I had a crush on a boy. I took this workshop and a girl who works there who was also interning at New World at the time said they were casting this movie and couldn’t find the lead. They had gone to Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. She had called me and asked me if I would go down and audition for this film and it was the day that Clive Barker and Chris Haig were going back to England that day. So I went over there and I read and Clive was terrific and he said “Would you retest for this?” So they flew me to England and had me retest and said “I am going to have to fight for you because the studio wanted a name, but to me you are Kirsty!” I got it because he fought for me."[3]

In 1988, Laurence reprised her role as Kirsty in Tony Randel's sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II. In 1989, Laurence guest-starred on the television series Monsters and Hunter.

In 1990, Laurence portrayed Jane in the film Face the Edge. In 1992, she appeared in the films Deuce Coupe, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, and Mikey. In 2000, Laurence starred in the film Cypress Edge and guest-starred on an episode of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.

In 1994, Laurence starred in Lurking Fear and Stranger by Night. In 1995, she starred in the martial arts Western Savate. The same year, she guest-starred on Legends and appeared in the television films Triplecross and American Cop. In 1996, Laurence starred in the film Livers Ain't Cheap and guest-starred on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

I am an oil painter and I like to do my paintings and create layers and it is my job to do the same thing with characters and I haven’t always had the right opportunity to do that. In this instance I was and that was very exciting for me. I got to create a full human being instead of just saying lines.

—Laurence on preparing for her role in Lightning Bug[4]

In 1997, she starred as Jennifer Taylor in the film Cupid and guest starred on the television series Suddenly Susan. In 1999, Laurence portrayed Janine DeVrie in the thriller film A Murder of Crows and Kris Miller in the horror film Warlock III: The End of Innocence. The same year, she guest starred on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210.

In 2002, Laurence reprised her role as Kirsty Cotton in the horror film Hellraiser: Hellseeker and portrayed Dakota in the television film Gentle Ben. The following year, she reprised her role as Dakota in the television film sequel Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain. In 2004, she portrayed Jenny Graves in the drama film Lightning Bug and had a guest role on the television series ER.[5]

In 2008, she appeared in the drama film Red, based on the novel by Jack Ketchum. In 2009, Laurence appeared in Slipknot's music video for their song "Snuff". In 2014, Laurence made her voice-over debut in the video game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. In 2016, Laurence starred in the film The Green Fairy.

In 2021, Laurence was confirmed to star alongside Keith David and Josh McDermitt in the upcoming second season of Shudder's anthology series Creepshow (2021).[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Hellraiser Kirsty Cotton
1988 Hellbound: Hellraiser II Kirsty Cotton
1990 Face the Edge Jane
1992 Mikey Shawn Gilder
1992 Deuce Coupe Marie Vitelli
1992 Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth Kirsty Cotton
1994 Lurking Fear Cathryn Farrell
1994 Stranger by Night Nicole Miller Direct-to-video
1995 Savate Mary Parker Direct-to-video
1995 Felony Laura Bryant
1996 Livers Ain't Cheap Carla
1997 Cupid Jennifer Taylor
1998 A Murder of Crows Janine DeVrie
1999 Warlock III: The End of Innocence Kris Miller Direct-to-video
2000 Cypress Edge Brittany Trummel
2002 Hellraiser: Hellseeker Kirsty Cotton Gooden Direct-to-video
2004 Lightning Bug Jenny Graves
2004 Tomb of Terror Cathryn Farrell Segment: "Lurking Fear";
Archive footage
2007 Chill Maria Direct-to-video
2008 Red Mrs. McCormack
2015 The Green Fairy Rachel

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1984-1985 Capitol Brenda Clegg
1986 Highway to Heaven Genna Episode: "Sail Away"
1989 Monsters Jodie Episode: "The Match Game"
1989 Hunter Erica Episode: "Investment in Death"
1995 Legend Libbie Custer Episode: "Custer's Next to Last Stand"
1995 Triplecross Julia Summers TV film
1995 American Cop Gina TV film
1996 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Daniela Episode: "Protean Challenge"
1997 Suddenly Susan Pam Episode: "The Ways and Means"
1999 Beverly Hills, 90210 Ashley Reese Episode: "Fortune Cookie"
2000 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Sandy Episode: "Damsel"
2002 Gentle Ben Dakota TV film
2003 Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain Dakota TV film
2004 ER Campbell Episode: "Just a Touch"
2005 Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder Francine TV film
2020 JJ Villard's Fairy Tales Jizzelda Voice Role
Episode: "Rumpelstiltskin"
2021 Creepshow Brenda Lanchester Episode: "Pesticide"

Music videos

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Title Year Performer(s) Notes
"Snuff" 2009 Slipknot
"Unholy Manipulator" 2012 Product of Hate Remastered in 2015 as "The Unholy Manipulator"

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Missy Carter Voice role

References

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  1. ^ Hellraiser, Box Office Information. The Numbers. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Hellraiser". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Interview: Ashley Laurence". JoBlo.com. US. April 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "Interview: Ashley Laurence". JoBlo.com. US. April 15, 2017.
  5. ^ James, Jonathon (16 January 2013). "Exclusive Interview: Ashley Laurence talks about Lightning Bug". Daily Dead. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Squires, John (10 September 2020). "Ashley Laurence, Keith David and More Join the Second Season of Shudder's "Creepshow"". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
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