Robia LaMorte Scott (born 1970) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known as a dancer and spokesperson for musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, and for starring as

Jenny Calendar Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School. Unbeknownst to Buffy or anyone else, Jenny Calen ...

in the television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''.

Early life

Scott was born in the New York City

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

in 1970 and grew up in several locations including the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

and

Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...

. She is named after her father, Robert LaMorte. After being inspired by the 1983 movie ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend ...

'', she began dancing and taking after-school lessons in

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

. She attended the

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

as a dance major during the school's first year of operation, and then received a full scholarship to the Dupree Dance Academy in Hollywood. At sixteen, she began working as a backup dancer in

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s, first appearing in

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

's "

Shake Your Love "Shake Your Love" (Atlantic Records, Atlantic 89187, Atlantic UK A9187) is the second single by American singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson, and the lead off single for her debut album, ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue ...

Career

After having appeared in more than thirty music videos and toured in a six-dancer troupe with the

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, LaMorte was picked by Prince to be one of two lead dancers for the music video for "

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

", a single from his 1991 album ''

Diamonds and Pearls ''Diamonds and Pearls'' is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the first with his new backing band The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Record ...

''. Prince had originally sought identical twins, but chose LaMorte along with another dancer, Lori Elle, because of their similar appearance and the dance chemistry they had with him. Elle as "Diamond" and LaMorte as "Pearl" subsequently appeared in the videos for "Cream", "

Gett Off "Gett Off" is a song written and produced by American musician Prince for his thirteenth album, ''Diamonds and Pearls'' (1991). The album was his first with his backing band the New Power Generation. "Gett Off" was released as the lead single fro ...

", "Strollin'", and the album's title track, as well as on the album's

holograph An autograph or holograph is a manuscript or document written in its author's or composer's hand. The meaning of autograph as a document penned entirely by the author of its content, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by a copyist o ...

ic cover itself. LaMorte and Elle then toured Europe with Prince, and when he temporarily refused to do any public speaking, the two women served as his spokespersons and conducted the main promotional efforts for ''Diamonds and Pearls''. Elle would later go on tour with

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. At the age of 22, LaMorte retired from dance and turned to acting. After doing numerous television commercials, she landed the role of

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...

's girlfriend Jill Fleming on ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

'' in two episodes and played the female lead (alongside Andrew Bowen) in the

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

video game ''

Fox Hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

''. Her first regular role was as high school teacher and technopagan Jenny Calendar on the first two seasons of ''

''.Fahy, Thomas (2010) ''The Philosophy of Horror'', The University Press of Kentucky, , p. 91 After her character was killed during the second season, she returned for two more episodes as a ghost. In the second season finale " Becoming, Part Two" she makes a brief appearance as a hypnosis induced suggestion by Drusilla to trick Rupert Giles into revealing the flaw in Angel's plan. Finally she returned during the third season episode "

Amends "Amends" is episode ten of season three of the television show '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon. Advertised as a Christmas episode, it was first broadcast on December 15, 1998. Plot It is ...

" to play a false apparition of the dead Calendar, a guise assumed by the evil force known as "the

First Evil The First Evil (usually called The First) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode " Amends", and became the main antagonist of the ...

".Mestre, Robert (2008) ''The Big Book of Buffy Bites 2008: The Ultimate Resource for the Buffy Fanatic'', Lulu.com, , p. 81 However, LaMorte had become a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

after a highway encounter with a Christian biker gang while she was praying for a sign from God. After having already accepted the guest appearance on her old show, she was upset to learn that she would be playing an equivalent of

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

. Since her role ended on ''Buffy'', LaMorte has periodically accepted guest starring roles on various television shows. More recently she has retired from acting, focusing her efforts on other priorities such as Christian counseling, although she occasionally can be seen in commercials and smaller roles. She also spends some of her time preaching Christianity and selling audio CDs on her website that give accounts of her religious conversion and beliefs. In an FAQ on that site, LaMorte writes that while she was once a proponent of

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

beliefs, she rejected them after her conversion to Christianity. She criticizes these beliefs as a form of "earth worship" and characterizes the practice of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

a dangerous opening for demonic influence. She later returned to acting, appearing in the film ''

Unplanned ''Unplanned'' is a 2019 American drama film written and directed by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman. It is based on the disputed 2011 memoir ''Unplanned'' by anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson. The film stars Ashley Bratcher as Johnson, foll ...

''.

Personal life

As of 2020, LaMorte is married under the last name Scott. She has one daughter. She is a committed Christian, and describes her conversion on her website.

Filmography

References

External links

Robia LaMorte official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamorte, Robia 1970 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century Christians Actresses from Florida Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Maryland Actresses from New York City American evangelicals American female dancers American dancers American film actresses American television actresses Christians from California Christians from Florida Christians from Maryland Christians from New York (state) People from Ocean City, Maryland People from Queens, New York Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni Dancers from New York (state) American Christians