- Also known as
- Lauren Lastrada
Biography
Lauren LaStrada, is an actress, singer, published author and motivational speaker. She is the recipient of 6 Best Actress Awards and 5 nominations, for her work in Stage and Film. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and The Actors Equity Association for professional theatre. As a youth, she studied classical piano, violin, French horn, Latin dance and is also a former competitive figure skater. Lauren is alumni of The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and The Detroit School of Arts. Most recently, Lauren can be seen in the recurring role of "Lina" in Mayor Of Kingstown on Paramount Plus (Season 3). Past notable roles include the role of "Clarisse", in the HBO Max Drama No Sudden Move, directed by Steven Soderbergh, "Detective Sarah Jones" in CBS Series FBI and the role of "Haddie" in the highly celebrated Indie/Western Wild Faith which garnered 3 Best Actress Awards from three International Film Festivals. Her accomplishments in theatre include a Best Supporting Actress award for the stage production of 'Ain't Misbehavin', and 2 Best Lead Actor awards for NY Playwright Andrea Lepcio's Looking For The Pony and My Soldiers, where she starred as an army medic suffering from PTSD post-war. As a stage performer and actress, Lauren has had the honor of working with Broadway Stars Ted Louis Levy in One More Rhythm as Ella Fitzgerald, Dancer/Actress and Director Debbie Allen, Actor and Director Vondie Curtis-Hall and for her run at The Riverside Theatre in Harlem, NY she was directed by Mikell Pickney in the original play Radio Soul. For her role as Billie Holiday in 'Lady Day At Emerson Bar and Grille' she received a Best Actress nomination by the 2018 Wilde Awards and a standing ovation at the end of every show. As an author, she self-published her first book, Simple Wisdom in 2009 and her second book Simple Wisdom Volume 2 in 2023. For her contributions to arts in schools and community, Lauren is a recipient of the Spirit Of Detroit Award; for donating her time to schools who lost their arts programs due to lack of funding. She also speaks regularly for outreach, churches and some conferences. To hear some of her messages of inspiration, tune into the Simple Wisdom Podcast on Spotify.