Lea Katherine Thompson was born in Rochester, Minnesota.
Ever since Lea was little, she loved to dance Ballet. She would practice three to four hours every day. Her first role was a mouse in The Nutcracker. After Lea turned fourteen, she had performed in more than forty-Five ballets on stages such as The Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, and The Ballet Repertory. She won scholarships to The American Ballet Theatre and The San Francisco Ballet. At age nineteen, she auditioned for Mikhail Baryshnikov, who later told her that she was "a beautiful dancer... but too stocky." Lea knew her dreams had been crushed. At that point, she decided to turn to acting.
Her first role was in the movie Jaws 3-D as a water ski bunny, although she couldn't swim or ski. Her next role was in All the Right Moves where she acted opposite Tom Cruise. Between 1983 and 1984, Lea appeared in other "teen" movies such as Red Dawn, The Wild Life, and Going Undercover.
Lea's biggest known accomplishment, and her big break, came from the first Back to the Future.
Afterwards, director Howard Deutch offered Lea a part in his movie, Some Kind of Wonderful. She won the Young Artist Award for best young actress. She then went on to film The Wizard of Loneliness. Lea went on to film Back to the Future Part II and an episode of Tales from the Crypt.She continued filming Back to the Future Part III, Montana, and Article 99.
She jumped back into acting in Dennis the Menace, where she says she just played herself. Then it was on to The Beverly Hillbillies, Stolen Babies, The Little Rascals, and The Substitute Wife. Lea then went into filming The Unspoken Truth. It was then that she was first given the script of a new NBC sitcom, Caroline in the City. She won a People's Choice Award for best actress in a new sitcom. The show ended after only four seasons.
Lea quickly went onto The Right to Remain Silent, The Unknown Cyclist, and A Will of Their Own. She also guest-starred in Friends and on The Larry Sanders Show. Lea also did some stage work, including starring as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. The show toured, and also appeared on Broadway. She then did The Vagina Monologues in L.A. She had a stint in a dramatic role as a Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney, Camille Paris on For the People.
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– Met Dennis Quaid on the set of her first movie JAWS 3-D (1983).
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– Has overcome her mid-life crisis - by having her belly button pierced and getting a tattoo.
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– Was a ballet dancer until Baryshnikov told her she was too stocky.
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– In ALL THE RIGHT MOVES (1983) she and Tom Cruise had body doubles for the sex scene.
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– Popular female vocalist Tori Amos auditioned for the part of Beverly Switzler in HOWARD THE DUCK (1986), eventually played by Lea Thompson
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– Met husband Howard Deutch when he directed her in SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987).
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– Has appeared in FRIENDS (1994) as her character from CAROLINE IN THE CITY (1995). And Matthew Perry has appeared in CAROLINE IN THE CITY (1995) as his character Chandler Bing.
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– Claims she was one of the few ballerinas at the American Ballet Theatre that didn't have an eating disorder.
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– Wanted nothing more when she was at the American Ballet Theatre to dance with the star dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov. She was heartbroken when he remarked that she was a beautiful dancer, but too stocky. Shortly after, she left the company.
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– Won scholarships to the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre.
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