Laura Leighton

Laura Leighton (born Laura Diane Miller; July 24, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Sydney Andrews in the television series Melrose Place (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and as Ashley Marin in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017).

Career Beginnings and breakthrough with Melrose Place (19931999) Laura Leighton shoots a scene for the film In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy. In the early 1990s, Leighton's first on-screen jobs were in a commercial for Pizza Hut and Dep Hair Gel before taking her first major acting role as Sydney Andrews in the prime time soap opera Melrose Place. The part was originally intended for only two episodes in season 1, but was eventually developed into a full-time role for the subsequent seasons 2 to 5 (1993–1997). During the show's run, Leighton appeared on numerous magazine covers (including Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone and People). Leighton left the show at the end of the fifth season in 1997, which saw her character Sydney being struck and seemingly killed by a car, only moments after her wedding to Craig Field, played by David Charvet. The role earned her praise and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Series, Miniseries or Television Film

During breaks while filming Melrose Place, Leighton starred in the made-for-television films, In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy for FOX as Laurette Wilder, a woman from a poor background who falls for a rich man to the disgust of his grandparents, and The Other Woman for CBS as Carolyn Bryan, a newly married model who finds herself making friends with her husband's dying ex-wife. She also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1995 with musical guest Rancid.

After leaving Melrose Place in 1997 at the end of her contract, Leighton accepted a six-episode role on Beverly Hills, 90210. Aaron Spelling created the role of aspiring actress Sophie Burns for her, and she reportedly received a six-figure salary per episode. The remake only lasted a single season on The CW before being cancelled. On December 7, 2009, ABC Family announced that Leighton had been cast in a lead role in the TV series Pretty Little Liars, a TV adaptation of a book of the same name by Sara Shepard as Ashley Marin, the mother of Hanna Marin played by Ashley Benson, one of the four main characters on the show. Leighton stayed with Pretty Little Liars for all seven seasons until the show's end in June 2017.

After Pretty Little Liars (2018present) In 2018, Leighton guest starred on the CBS medical drama Code Black as Sonya Finn, and then starred in the Hallmark Christmas movie Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane. In 2020, she guest starred as Karen Scott on L.A.'s Finest, 2021 saw Leighton playing Corinne Simon in The CW's Dynasty. She appeared as Nettie in the episode "The Big Five Oh" of the Fantasy Island sequel series. In 2024, Leighton and her Melrose Place co-stars Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga began hosting a podcast, Still The Place, on iHeartRadio.

Public image Following her performance in the second season of Melrose Place, Leighton was featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly s 1994 Fall TV Preview issue. She appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with her co-stars Heather Locklear and Josie Bissett in May 1994, in an issue entitled "The Hot Issue". In 1995, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her work on the series, was named one of the most beautiful people in the world by People magazine, and hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. The role of Sydney Andrews, which she signed on to reprise in the 2009 Melrose Place spin-off, has been recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of the most popular characters" from the original series.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Angels, Baby! Jessica Short 1999 Clean and Narrow Marie 2000 Seven Girlfriends Anabeth 2000 The Sky Is Falling Amber Lee 2008 The Burrowers Gertrude

Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story Travel Agent Television film; uncredited 1993–1997 Melrose Place Sydney Andrews Guest star (season 1); recurring role (season 2); main role (seasons 3–5) 1994 Life with Louie: A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman Voice role; television short 1995 The Other Woman Carolyn Television film 1995 In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy Laurette Wilder Television film 1995 Saturday Night Live Herself (host) Host; episode: "Laura Leighton/Rancid" 1997 Duckman Ditzi Voice role; episode: "With Friends Like These" 1997 The Larry Sanders Show Herself Episode: "Artie and Angie and Hank and Hercules" 1998 Cupid Kristy Holbrook Unaired episode: "Botched Makeover"1998 Beverly Hills, 90210 Sophie Burns Recurring role (season 9), 6 episodes 1998 Naked City: A Killer Christmas Gerry Millar Television film 2000 The Outer Limits Episode: "Inner Child" 2000 Early Edition Ginger Episode: "Everybody Goes to Rick's" 2002 We'll Meet Again Fran Sillman Television film 2003 Skin Cynthia Peterson 6 episodes 2004 Tru Calling Jordan Davies Episode: "Daddy's Girl" 2004 A Deadly Encounter Joanne Sanders Television film 2005 Eyes Leslie Town Main role 2006 CSI: Miami Alyssa Prince Episode: "Silencer" 2006 Boston Legal Erica Dolenz Episodes: "Lincoln", "On the Ledge" 2007 Shark Angela Corbin Episode: "Backfire" 2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lillian Rice Episode: "Responsible" 2007 Love Notes Nora Flannery Television film 2008 Daniel's Daughter Cate Madighan Television film 2009 Mending Fences Kelly Fariday Television film 2009–2010 Melrose Place Sydney Andrews Recurring role, 7 episodes 2010–2017 Pretty Little Liars Ashley Marin Main role 2018 Code Black Sonya Finn Episode: "Change of Heart" 2018 Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane Andie Television film 2020 L.A.'s Finest Karen Scott Episode: "For Life" 2021 Dynasty Corinne Simon Episode: "Equal Justice for the Rich" 2021 Fantasy Island Nettie Episode: "The Big Five Oh"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1995 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress Series, Miniseries or Television Film Melrose Place