Laura Leighton is an American actress who is best known for featuring in the American 1990s soap opera Melrose Place and also in its 2009 revival. Leighton’s character of Sydney Andrews was initially intended to last for a few episodes of season one. However, the character was further developed and eventually became one of the most beloved characters on the iconic TV show.
Her stellar performance on the show earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 1995. After quitting the show in 1997, Leighton went on to feature in numerous TV shows. She also has a number of movies to her credit including Angels, Baby! (1999) and The Burrowers (2008). Starting from 2011, Laura Leighton was cast as Ashley Marin in the ABC Family thriller series Pretty Little Liars.
Laura Leighton Bio, Age
She was born Laura Diane Miller on July 24, 1968, in Iowa City, Iowa, USA. However, she decided to take up her mother’s maiden surname “Leighton” in 1988.
Laura had her high school education at West High School in Iowa City. She was a very active student and participated in several groups. She was a popular cheerleader and a talented vocalist and an instrumentalist in school. Laura was also a member of the school’s choral group “Good Time Company”. She graduated from high school in 1986 and joined the performing group known as “The Young Americans”. Laura participated in the group’s 1987 intercountry tour.
Her college education was at California State University in Long Beach, California where she majored in business. After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. While waiting for TV and movie roles, Leighton worked as a waitress in order to support herself.
Her role in Melrose Place was one of Leighton’s first and was intended to feature in only 2 episodes of the first season. The character later evolved into a regular one which had Leighton feature up till the 5th season.
While working on Melrose Place in the 1990s, Leighton also made several other TV appearances. In 1995, she hosted an episode of the late-night TV show Saturday Night Live. She equally graced the covers of several magazines including Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone, both in 1994.
After leaving the iconic show in 1997, Leighton went on to feature in Beverly Hills, 90210, in a six-episode role created specifically for her. She equally voiced a character on an episode of the animated series Duckman (1997). This was followed by guest appearances on Cupid (1998), Early Edition (2000) and The Outer Limits (2000).
Laura Leighton also has a number of movie appearances to her credit including The Clean and Narrow (1999), Angel’s Baby (1999) and Seven Girlfriends (1999). She also featured in the 2000 Indie film The Sky Is Falling before taking a break to raise a family. In the 2000s, she made guest appearances on the following shows: CSI: Miami, Boston Legal, Shark and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Laura Leighton reprised her role as Sydney Andrews in the 2009 revival of Melrose Place on CW network. However, the reprisal was cancelled after just one season following abysmal ratings. She joined the main cast of Pretty Little Liars in 2011 where she plays the role of Ashley Marin.
Husband
Laura Leighton got married to fellow actor Doug Savant in May 1998 following a six-month engagement. Doug Savant was her co-star in Melrose Place. Even though they worked together for a long time, they only began dating in 1997 and by November that same year, they got engaged.
According to Savant, meeting his wife on Melrose Place was one of his best outcomes of the show. Their relationship is not the only one to have emanated from Melrose Place, however, theirs has been the most successful.
Kids, Family
Laura Leighton has 4 children with husband Doug Savant. They welcomed son Jack Douglas on October 10, 2000. They later welcomed daughter Lucy Jane on June 9, 2005.
In addition to their 2 biological children, the family is also blessed with two other daughters from Doug Savant’s previous marriage. The two daughters are Arianna Josephine Savant, born in 1992 and Madeleine Marie Savant, born in 1993.
Net Worth
She earned a lot of money in the 1990s which marked the first peak of her Hollywood career. After leaving Melrose Place in 1997, Laura Leighton went on to feature in 90210 which had her earn a six-digit salary for each of her 6 episodes.
She remained persistent throughout the early 2000s even though the major roles didn’t come her way. Being cast in the main role of the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars helped the actress to reinvent her career in 2011. Thanks to her acting career which spans over 2 decades, Laura Leighton is currently worth about $3 million.
Quick Facts
Laura Leighton is 5′ 4″ (1.63 m) in height.
Prior to the takeoff of her acting career, she worked as a waitress at the infamous Mezzaluna Restaurant in Brentwood, California.
In 1995, the gorgeous actress received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series for her performance in Melrose Place.
In 1996, Laura Leighton was named among the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People magazine.
Even though she enjoys a blissful acting career, Leighton hopes that none of her kids would venture into the business. She is literally terrified by the possibility of any of her kids getting interested.
In her leisure time, Laura Leighton also plays the piano.
