Lori Singer

A childhood musical prodigy, Lori Singer took up the cello at the age of 12 and became Juilliard's youngest undergraduate two years later. At 15, she made her solo debut with the Western Washington Symphony, and, in 1980, won the Bergen Philharmonic Competition. Singer later signed with the Elite Modeling Agency. Inspired by brother Marc's success in film and television, she decided, at 17, to study acting. Her casting in the television dance-school drama Fame found Singer in a role that was seemingly made for her. Cast as a student cellist/dancer with stars in her eyes (it's rumored that the actress beat out Madonna for the role), the series was the epitome of all things '80s. Her character's desire to dance suppressed by onscreen father John Lithgow in her first feature role, Footloose became a surprise box-office smash that spawned a Broadway musical more than a decade after its theatrical release. Following up with The Falcon and the Snowman and The Man With One Red Shoe (both 1985), audiences were enraptured by the rising star's powerful combination of beauty and talent. Although such subsequent efforts as Summer Heat (1987) and Warlock (1988) ended the decade with a whimper, Singer undauntedly rounded out the '90s with memorable roles in Robert Altman's Short Cuts (for which she also contributed to the soundtrack) and as the star of the short-lived 1995 TV series VR.5 (in a role originally conceived for a man). Two years later, Singer found herself performing alongside idol Yo Yo Ma in director Atom Egoyan's Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach: Sarabande. In addition to continuing to refine her passion for the cello, Singer has dedicated much of her offscreen time to aiding such efforts as The Dishes Project for Pediatric AIDS. Married to New York civil liberties attorney Richard Emery in 1980, the couple had a son before divorcing in 1996. ~ Jason Buchanan