| Lisa Ann Walter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Lisa Ann Walter |
| Born: | August 3, 1963 |
| Occupation: | actress, comedian, producer, writer |
| Years active: | 1995-present |
| Known for: | appearing in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds. |
Lisa Ann Walter (born August 3, 1963) is an American Actress, comedian, writer and film producer. Walter has appeared in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance and War of the Worlds.
Early Life[]
Walter was born and raised in suburban Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington D.C., where she remembers "always liking to show off" as a child. Walter was a high-achieving student and always the class clown. Walter's father worked at NASA and indulged his own love of performing after-hours in local community theater. Her mother was a teacher, later working at the local courthouse. Her parents, both native New Yorkers, divorced when Walter was in elementary school. Walter attended Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland, finally studying drama at Catholic University of America under the tutelage of the renowned Father Gilbert Hartke. Walter began appearing in various regional and dinner theater productions and met her future spouse, Sam Baum, while performing in "A Streetcar Named Desire". They married before moving to New York City, where they both began various day jobs while raising their baby, shoehorning in frequent auditions and roles various off-Broadway venues. Walter performed at amateur nights contests at some of the comedy clubs.
Career[]
After five years of standup comedy, Walter was cast to star in her own FOX network comedy series My Wildest Dreams, followed by an ABC sitcom Life's Work, in which she both created and starred in. Walter also co-starred in the Bravo series Breaking News and in the NBC sitcom Emeril.
In addition to Bruce Almighty (2003) and Shall We Dance (2004), Walter co-starred in the Disney film The Parent Trap (1998). In the remake of the original classic, she appeared as the nanny to Dennis Quaid's daughter who was played by a young Lindsay Lohan. Prior to that, she played Whoopi Goldberg's tarty sidekick Claudine in Eddie (1996).
In early 2007, Walter had a supporting role as Mable the bartender in the MyNetworkTV soap opera Watch Over Me. That summer, Walter served as a guest judge on the ABC reality show The Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? which searched for the best celebrity impersonators in America.
In the Spring of 2008, Walter was in the comedy film Drillbit Taylor and also starred in the VH1 reality series Celebracadabra in which celebrities competed to see who as the best magician among them. Walter made it to the final three but was eliminated in the sixth episode. Walter has developed a series for Oxygen network called Dance Your Ass Off. On December 19, 2011, she appeared in an episode of Rizzoli & Isles as a dance and ballet coach, J.J.; it was far from her usual role, as she played a very serious character in a drama. Her comic memoir "The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me" was published in May 2011.
Beginning in May 2011, Walter hosted a talk show on Los Angeles radio station KFI. Known as The Fabulous Lisa Ann Walter Show, the program aired for three hours each Saturday and Sunday. In August 2014, Walter quit in order to focus on her acting career.
Personal Life[]
Walter resides in Los Angeles with her four children, including son Jordan, daughter Delia and twin boys Simon and Spencer. Walter is developing enough material to return to standup comedy. Walter remains good friends with British actor Simon Kunz who portrayed her love interest in The Parent Trap.