Dancer, cellist, actress — it’s not just “Virtual Reality”. Lori Jacqueline Singer was born on November 6, 1957 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her father Jacques Singer was a symphony conductor, and her mother Leslie a concert pianist. Lori grew up in Texas, Portland, Vancouver and London. Lori always wanted to become a dancer. At age 12, she fell in love with cello music and wanted to study that, too. Lori was a prodigy, because at age 14, she got accepted to the Juilliard Performing Arts School in New York, where she majored in music. Lori became the school’s youngest undergraduate student, and only one year after enrolling, she made her debut as a soloist with the Western Washington Symphony. In 1980, Lori won the Bergen Philharmonic Competition. In 1981, Lori married Richard Emery (they would divorce in 1998). This lovely lady (5′ 10″) also pursued a successful modeling career with the Elite Model Agency.
Inspired by her brother Marc Singer’s success in Hollywood, Lori had started taking acting lessons at age 17, and in 1982, she landed a role in the television series Fame (1982). She was a natural to play the tall, beautiful cellist Julie Miller, displaying her dancing and singing skills. Lori portrayed a model in the television movie Born Beautiful (1982), and won a Silver Halo Award for her performance. Lori went on to do movies, her breakout film being Footloose (1984) which grossed $80,000,000 (and Lori had beat out Madonna for the part). In 1985, Lori was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead in Trouble in Mind (1985). Lori had a son, Jacques Rio, in 1991. In 1993, Lori won a Golden Globe Award for her outstanding performance in Short Cuts (1993). In 1995, Lori starred in VR.5 (1995) the short-lived sci-fi series. That same year, she was also listed in People magazine as one of the “Most Beautiful People”.
Lori still plays the cello regularly, and although she was classically trained, Lori plays rock music as well (sometimes she gathers her friends in her apartment for a jam). Big-hearted Lori also devotes a lot of time and effort to the “DISHES Project” for Pediatric AIDS. (DISHES — Determined Involved Super-role models Helping to End Suffering) Their mission “is to raise funds and awareness for programs dedicated to direct care, prevention and education, foster care and adoptive services.” Lori is one of many generous celebrities (including Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson, Claudia Schiffer, and many others) who have donated their time, image and money for this noble project. Lori lives with her son in Manhattan. And, as Lori writes occasionally when she signs an autograph: “Stay Footloose!”
