Laurel Lisa Holloman is an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and actress. She is best known for playing Tina Kennard in ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

''.

Early life

Holloman is the youngest child in her family. She has two older brothers. She graduated from Saint Mary's School, an Episcopal boarding school for girls in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, in 1986. She attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

where she graduated with a degree in Performance Communication. She appeared in numerous theater productions in

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

and Raleigh, as well as in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She studied painting and sculpting at UCLA and at The San Francisco Art Institute.

Career

Acting

After graduating from UNC, Holloman moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to work with the

Piven Theatre Workshop The Piven Theatre Workshop is located in Evanston, Illinois and was founded by Joyce and Byrne Piven. For over 30 years, it has existed both as a professional theatre company and a training center for children and adults. Famous alumni to come out ...

. She studied with John Lynn in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and was cast in David Orr's independent feature ''Blossom Time''. She moved to New York City in early 1994 and appeared in stage productions such as

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'',

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

' ''

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940) is the debut novel by the American author Carson McCullers; she was 23 at the time of publication. It is about a deaf man named John Singer and the people he encounters in a 1930s mill town in the US state ...

'' at the Theatre for the New City. Holloman also performed

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in Julia Jordan's ''Night Swim'' at Playwright's Horizons. In 1995, Holloman began her film career with her role as Randy Dean in ''

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love ''The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Maria Maggenti and starring Laurel Holloman, Nicole Ari Parker, and Maggie Moore. It tells the story of two very different high s ...

''. She worked steadily in a variety of mostly independent film roles, such as ''

The Myth of Fingerprints ''The Myth of Fingerprints'' is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich. It stars Blythe Danner, Roy Scheider, Noah Wyle, and Julianne Moore (who later married Freundlich). The story follows the gathering of a dysfuncti ...

'', ''

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

'' and ''

Tumbleweeds A tumbleweed is a kind of plant habit or structure. Tumbleweed, tumble-weed or tumble weed may also refer to: Films * ''Tumbleweeds'' (1925 film), William S. Hart film * ''Tumbling Tumbleweeds'' (1935 film), Gene Autry film * ''Tumbleweed'' (1 ...

''. Though she retired from acting to pursue a career in painting, she returned to reprise the role of the series' follow-up, '' The L Word: Generation Q''.

Painting

After her acting career, Holloman spent her time painting in Los Angeles. Her paintings were influenced by

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...

, with vibrant use of color and large scale pieces, as well as elements of three dimensional effect. Although mostly abstract, Holloman's paintings betray a distinctly literary spirituality. She received favorable reviews for ''Free Falling'', which was held at the

Ateneo Veneto The Ateneo Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti is an institution for the promulgation of science, literature, art and culture in all forms, in the exclusive interest of promoting social solidarity, located in Venice, northern Italy. The Ateneo Ven ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy. Art critic Lea Mattarella reviewed Holloman's works in La Repubblica: "Holloman's paintings take us elsewhere, and at the end of the day, this is what art is all about". Holloman's painting, "Swell", was chosen to be part of the group show entitled "Nell' Acqua Capisco" at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, 2013. She won 1st Place in Discipline Painting at the 2014 Contemporary Art Biennale of Argentina. Holloman had two entries in the 2015 Florence Biennale and won a prize for "Into the Woods". In November 2015 she had a solo show at the Menier Gallery in London titled "The Innocents". Holloman's first solo museum show entitled "Everglow" was held in Amstelveen, Netherlands from July 2016 through August 2016 in the Museum Jan Van der Togt.

Personal life

Holloman married architect Paul Macherey on July 13, 2002. They have a daughter, Lola Reiko Macherey. They adopted a second daughter, Nala Belle (meaning 'beautiful gift'). In 2011, Holloman filed for divorce, which was finalized on June 18, 2012.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2017 * Fertile Ground, Bankside Gallery, London 2016 * Everglow, Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen 2015 * The Innocents, Mernier Gallery, London 2014 * The Fifth Element, Galerie Joseph, Paris 2013 * All the World Inside, Palazzo Italia, Berlin 2012 * Free Falling, Ateneo of Venice, Venice * Coeur Libre, Pantheon Town Hall, Paris.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Laurel Holloman Art
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holloman, Laurel Living people 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from North Carolina Bisexual actresses American LGBT actors LGBT people from North Carolina People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American women painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists St. Mary's School (North Carolina) alumni Year of birth missing (living people)