Laura Innes is an American actress and director.

Innes was born on August 16, 1959 in Pontiac, Michigan. She was introduced to professional theater by her father, who frequently took the family to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. Following his advice to "do what you love", she attended Northwestern University and earned a degree in theater.

Her first stage credits were in Chicago at the renowned Goodman Theater , where among other roles she played Stella opposite John Malkovich's Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire. Other major stage credits include Two Shakespearean Actors with Eric Stoltz at Lincoln Center, Our Town at the Seattle Repertory Theatre , and Three Sisters at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.

Innes guest-starred on television series such as Party of Five, My So-Called Life, and Brooklyn Bridge and appeared in the Emmy-winning cable movie And the Band Played On before being cast in her first major TV role as Thomas Haden Church's promiscuous ex-wife Bunny on the NBC comedy series Wings (1991-1993). She caught the attention of the creative team at the network's popular medical drama, ER, who during its second season cast her in the recurring role of Dr. Kerry Weaver, then made her a regular cast member when the series began its third season. Her character has served as a positive role model for both the physically-challenged and the lesbian community. She has received two Emmy Award nominations for her portrayal, as well as three Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the “ER” ensemble, and has received five nominations for Best Supporting Actress from Viewers for Quality Television .

Innes has also directed several episodes of the series, as well as episodes of The West Wing, one of which earned her an Emmy nomination for directing.

On the big screen, Innes has co-starred with Téa Leoni, Morgan Freeman, and Vanessa Redgrave in the adventure film Deep Impact and with ER castmate Noah Wyle in Can’t Stop Dancing .

External links

• IMDb entry
• NBC bio