Lauren Woodland (born October 28, 1977) is an American attorney and semi-retired actress. Before entering the field of law, she appeared in more than 50 commercials, guest starred in more than 20 television programs and starred as a series regular in four television series. She starred as Emily Francisco in ''

Alien Nation ''Alien Nation'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon (later known for ''Farscape''), comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the ...

'' from 1989 to 1990 and reprised her role in the five television film sequels from 1994 to 1997. She received a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nomination for her role as

Brittany Hodges Brittany Hodges is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Brittany was introduced on December 1, 1999, by former executive producer Edward J. Scott. The role was originated by Vanessa Lee Evigan wh ...

in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

daytime soap A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She is an attorney with the law firm Novian & Novian, LLP.

Education

Woodland attended the

Highly Gifted Magnet The Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM) is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Gifted and Talented program, designed for students of extraordinary intelligence who have unique intellectual, social and emotional abilities not nurtured by nor ...

North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School (NHHS) is a public high school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is located in the San Fernando Valley and enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Several neighborhoods, inc ...

from 1992 to 1995. She spent her summers in high school attending programs at the

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

and the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

in London. After graduating from high school, she attended the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

at New York University before transferring to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

where she graduated magna cum laude with a major in history and a minor in religion. In 2011, she obtained a J.D. degree from the

UCLA School of Law The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...

where she served as managing editor of the UCLA Entertainment Law Review.

Acting career

Woodland has been acting since childhood. From 1989 to 1990, she appeared in the science fiction series ''

'' as the child newcomer Emily Francisco. She reprised her role in the five ''Alien Nation'' TV movies, from 1994 to 1997. She appeared as the 12-year-old Jamie Spontini in the 1990 ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physi ...

'' episode " The Great Spontini". Woodland has numerous soap opera credits, including a 1998 role as Sara Cummings on the soap opera '' Sunset Beach'', a role as Janelle on ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'' in February 1999, and as

on ''

'' which she portrayed from March 2000 until November 2005 and she returned to the role in 2018 and 2020. She also appeared on ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'' in the episode "Stand Up and Holler" which premiered April 1, 2007.

Awards and nominations

Legal career

After earning the Juris Doctor degree from

in 2011, Woodland worked as an associate at the international law firm White & Case LLP, moving to Novian & Novian, LLP where she is Senior Counsel. She is Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association, Business and Corporate Litigation Committee Business Torts Subcommittee, Business Law Section.

Personal life

Lauren Woodland was born on October 28, 1977 in Carson City, Nevada. She received her first acting role when she was just 6 years old (an

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

Weiner hot dog commercial) and moved to Southern California to pursue an acting career. Her family already had a distinguished history in California: her great-grandaunt was

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

, architect of

Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada (Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his archit ...

. She is active in her support of the arts and in helping aspiring young actors. She serves as Vice-President of the Los Angeles Dance Company, a neo-classical and contemporary dance company, founded by former American Ballet Theater soloist Marie-France Lévesque, dedicated to supporting and advancing the art of dance. Lauren is also a member of the Board of Directors of the

Castro Organ Devotees Association The Castro Organ Devotees Association (CODA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the tradition of live organ music in San Francisco's Castro Theatre.The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ Reinvented in Castro Theater: P ...

, a San Francisco nonprofit organization founded by

David Hegarty David Howard Hegarty (born March 1, 1945 in Mount Clemens, Michigan) is an American organist and composer. He has served as organist at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco since 1978. Career Hegarty's interest in music was inspired at an earl ...

, dedicated to keeping the art of organ music alive through the acquisition and restoration of the Wurlitzer pipe organ in the

Castro Theatre The Castro Theatre is a historic movie palace in San Francisco that became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street in the Castro District, it was built in 1922 with a California Churrigueresque façad ...

, San Francisco.

References

External links

*
Lauren Woodland Profile on Soapcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodland, Lauren 1977 births Living people People from Carson City, Nevada American soap opera actresses American television actresses California lawyers University of Southern California alumni UCLA School of Law alumni American women lawyers American child actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses North Hollywood High School alumni