Celebrity Movie Blog

Who is Lea Thompson?

Lea Thompson was born on the 31st May 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. She is an actress. Lea studied dance as a girl, and would practice three to four hours every day. She was dancing professionally by the age of 14. Lea then won scholarships to several ballet schools, including The American Ballet Theatre and The San Francisco Ballet. She danced with The Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, and The Ballet Repertory. She was informed by Baryshnikov that she was "too stocky". Due to this (as well as some small nagging injuries) she decided to give up dancing in favor of an acting career. She moved to New York at the age of 20, and performed in a number of burger King ads in the 1980's. Her first significant movie role was in All The Right Moves (1983) with Tom Cruise. That was followed by Red Dawn and Wildlife in 1984. Her most famous role was that of Lorraine Baines McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy; her character is mother of the main character. She also starred in the movie Space Camp (1986), a commercial flop. Lea was also seen in The Beverley Hillbillies in 1993. She found critical and popular success as the star of the sitcom Caroline in the City from 1995 to 1999.