Who is Laila Robins?
American actress Laila Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota USA, on 14 March 1959, under the zodiac sign of Pisces. She’s appeared in more than 80 movies and TV series, and is probably still best known for her playing of one of the main characters Susan Page in the 1987 comedy movie “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”, written and directed by John Hughes, and which also starred Steve Martin and John Candy. It follows a Chicago businessman who’s travelling home for Thanksgiving with his colleague; the movie was nominated for an American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role), for John Candy.
Education and early life
Laila and her three sisters were raised in St. Paul by their Latvian-American parents Janis Robins and Brigita (nee Svarcs); Janis was a research chemist.
Even though Laila became interested in acting while still attending elementary school, her parents urged her to keep it as a hobby, and focus on her education; she was into a number of other activities during her teenage years, such as dancing, playing volleyball and practicing creative writing.
Upon matriculating in 1977, Laila enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1981; she then enrolled at Yale University’s David Geffen School of Drama, leaving with a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting in 1983.
Roles in movies
Laila’s debut film role was in the 1987 adventure drama “A Walk on the Moon”, while some of her following roles were in 1989 in the drama “Dream Breakers” and the action crime drama “An Innocent Man”, and the 1990 comedy drama “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael”.
The year 1995 saw Laila play Rachel in the comedy “Live Nude Girls”, written and directed by Julianna Lavin, and which starred Dana Delany, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Stevenson; it follows four women during their bachelorette party. Laila appeared in a couple of movies in the remainder of the ‘90s, including the mystery crime drama “True Crime”, the crime drama “Spenser: Small Vices” and the crime thriller drama “Oxygen”, all released in 1999.
In 2003, she portrayed Irene in the romantic comedy drama “Happy End”, written and directed by Amos Kollek, and which starred Audrey Tautou, Justin Theroux and Jennifer Tilly; it follows a French girl who’s moved to New York City wanting to become an actress. The year 2006 then saw Laila appear in three films: the drama “Things That Hang from Trees”, another drama “A Broken Sole”, and the historical thriller “The Good Shepherd”, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Art Direction.
The year 2008 saw her play Mrs Fenstermaker in the romantic drama “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond”, which Jodie Markell directed, and which starred Will Patton, Chris Evans and Bryce Dallas Howard. It follows a socialite who’s trying to find true love, while the one whom she thought to be it has now stolen a priceless diamond from her; the movie was nominated for a Golden Spike Award for Best Film at the Valladolid International Film Festival.
A couple of Laila’s following movie roles were in the 2009 comedy “Welcome to Academia”, the 2011 biographical historical drama “Too Big to Fail”, and the 2013 mystery crime drama “Side Effects”.
In 2015, Laila played Ms. Jillian Goldman in the action thriller drama “Eye in the Sky”, directed by Gavin Hood, and which starred Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman. It follows Colonel Katherine Powell during her mission in Kenya, and the film won three of its 13 award nominations.
Laila’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2019 biographical crime drama “A Call to Spy”, the 2019 drama “The Rest of Us” and the 2022 animated comedy drama “My Love Affair with Marriage” (voice role).
Roles in TV series
Laila’s debut TV series appearance was in the 1988 episode “The Last Campaign” of the action crime drama “The Equalizer”, and she gained recognition in 1990 and 1991 with her portrayal of Victoria Heller in the thriller drama “Gabriel’s Fire”, created by Donald R. Boyle and Coleman Luck, and co-starring James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair. It follows a police officer who was sent to jail for killing his colleague, while he’s now begun working as a private investigator for the lawyer that helped set him free; the series won seven of its 13 award nominations.
The remainder of the ‘90s saw Laila appear in an episode of many series, including the drama “Nothing Sacred”, and the mystery crime dramas “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”.
In 2006, she portrayed Nora Paxton in the romantic comedy drama “The Book of Daniel”, created by Jack Kenny, and which starred Aidan Quinn, Susanna Thompson and Christian Campbell; it follows the life of Reverend Daniel Webster, and the series won a 2007 Silver Angel Award for National Television. Laila could then have been seen appearing in the 2009 episode “St. Valentine’s Day” of the comedy “30 Rock”, and a couple of episodes of both the soap opera “All My Children” and the drama “In Treatment”.
Episode 42! Next week. #actor Laila Robins! #stevemartin #johncandy #thanksgiving #november #actor #movies #tv #homeland #eyeinthesky #theater #johnhughes #80s #family #love #VeteransDay #planestrainsandautomobiles #holiday #movie #cinema #mondaymorningcritic #podcast #netflix pic.twitter.com/h746UWLuU2
— Monday Morning Critic Podcast (@mdmcritic) November 11, 2017
The year 2013 saw her portray Martha Boyd in the mystery crime drama “Homeland”, created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and which starred Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin. It follows a bipolar CIA agent who believes that al-Qaeda turned one of their people when he was imprisoned by them, and that he’s become a terrorist; the series aired from 2011 to 2020 and won 67 of its 149 award nominations.
Laila’s also known for her playing of Katarina Rostova in 16 episodes (2019-2021) of the mystery crime drama “The Blacklist”, which Jon Bokenkamp created, and which stars Diego Klattenhoff, Megan Boone and James Spader. It follows criminal Raymond Reddington who’s been avoiding capture for years, but has now turned himself in, wanting to speak only to Elizabeth Keen, FBI’s new profiler; the series has been airing since 2013, and has won three of its 37 award nominations.
Laila’s three most recent roles in TV series have been in 11 episodes of the action crime comedy “The Boys” since 2019, 15 episodes of the horror thriller “The Walking Dead” and three episodes of the biographical crime drama “The Crowded Room”, both in 2022.
Other credits
Laila received special thanks for the 2005 adventure comedy movie “Transamerica”.
She’s been featured in many documentaries, including the 2008 series “Working in the Theatre”, the 2014 movie “Showing Up”, and the 2019 short video “Freeside with Laila Robins”.
Laila’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “Prime Rewind: Inside the Boys”, “That’s the Fxxking Trailer” and “Sci-Fi Talk”, amongst others.
Awards and nominations
Laila and her colleagues were nominated for a 2015 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, for their performance in “Homeland”.
Love life and partner
Laila met American actor and singer Robert Cuccioli in 2000, when they both appeared in a production of the William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth”, performed at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Robert played Macbeth, while Laila played Lady Macbeth.
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Robert’s appeared in only 14 movies and TV series, as he’s rather focused on appearing in theatre plays, so he’s perhaps still best known for his portrayal of Monroe Gordon in the 1998 comedy movie “Celebrity”, which was nominated for four awards.
Laila and Robert have no children together.
She hasn’t mentioned the men whom she had been with prior to meeting Robert; Laila’s in a long-term relationship with Robert Cuccioli as of October 2022, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
One of Laila’s sisters is today working as a teacher of English language at a high school in Blaine, Minnesota.
For her portrayal of Portia in the 1995 production of “The Merchant of Venice”, Laila won a Joe A. Callaway Award for Best Performance in a Classic Drama.
She shares a birthday with many popular actors and actresses, including Keaton Tyndall, Mercedes McNab and Michael Caine.
There are only just over 5,000 people following Laila on Instagram, and she’s posted only 14 pictures and videos onto the social media network.
Laila loves to travel, and has vacationed in various US states and several European countries, while her favorite city to travel to is Marseille, France.
Her favorite actresses are Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, and some of her favorite movies include “Sleeping with the Enemy”, “Stepmom” and “Steel Magnolias”.
Height, eyes and net worth
Laila’s age is 63. Her hair’s short and blonde, her eyes are blue, she’s 5ft 7ins (1.71m) tall, and her weight is around 140lbs (63kgs).
Laila’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of October 2022.
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