Lori Petty facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lori Petty
Petty in 2023
Born	(1963-10-14) October 14, 1963 (age 61) Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–present

Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is known for her roles in popular films like Point Break (1991), A League of Their Own (1992), and Free Willy (1993). She also played the main character in the movie Tank Girl (1995).

Lori Petty also directed and wrote the movie The Poker House in 2008. Later, in 2014, she joined the cast of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, where she played the character Lolly Whitehill.

Early Life and Beginnings

Lori Petty was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is the oldest of three children. She finished high school in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1981. Before becoming an actress, she worked as a graphic designer in Omaha, Nebraska.

Acting Career Highlights

Lori Petty started her acting career on television. In 1985, she appeared on the soap opera All My Children. She also made guest appearances on shows like The Equalizer, The Twilight Zone, and Miami Vice. In 1987, she starred in the TV movie Bates Motel.

Early Film Roles

In 1990, Lori Petty made her first movie appearance in the comedy Cadillac Man. The next year, she played a surfer in the action film Point Break, which also starred Keanu Reeves.

A big role for her came in 1992 when she starred in the sports comedy-drama A League of Their Own. In this movie, she acted alongside Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna. The film was very successful and earned a lot of money worldwide.

In 1993, she starred in the family movie Free Willy, which was also a big hit. That same year, she had a supporting role in the romantic drama Poetic Justice. In 1994, she appeared in the police drama The Glass Shield and the comedy In the Army Now.

Petty at the 2017 Wizard World Columbus

Tank Girl and Other Projects

In 1995, Lori Petty took on the main role in Tank Girl, a movie based on a popular comic book. Even though the movie didn't make a lot of money at first, it later became a cult classic (meaning it gained a strong following over time).

After Tank Girl, she returned to television in 1996 with the sitcom Lush Life, which she also helped create. She also appeared in many independent films and made guest appearances on TV shows like Star Trek: Voyager, ER, and NYPD Blue. She also provided the voice for the supervillain Livewire in Superman: The Animated Series.

Directing and Recent Work

Lori Petty directed and wrote the 2008 drama film The Poker House. This movie was inspired by her own childhood experiences. It won awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival and starred Jennifer Lawrence.

In 2014, Lori Petty joined the cast of the popular Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. She played Lolly Whitehill, a character interested in conspiracy theories. She was a guest star in the second season and a regular character in later seasons. For her work on the show, she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with the rest of the cast in 2016 and 2017.

She has also made guest appearances on other TV shows like Gotham and Hawaii Five-0. In 2021, she starred in the HBO miniseries Station Eleven.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

See also

In Spanish: Lori Petty para niños