Early years and education Laura Elena Herring Martínez was born in
Los Mochis,
Sinaloa, Mexico, on March 3, 1964. Her mother, María Elena Martínez-Cairo, is a Mexican
spiritual teacher,
real estate investor, and former secretary. Her father, Raymond Herring, was a Mexican developer and organic farmer of Austrian-German descent. The two divorced in 1971. Harring lived the first ten years of her life in Guasave Sinaloa Mexico, before her family relocated to
San Antonio, Texas. Harring suffered a head wound from a
.45 bullet when she was caught by stray fire from a
driveby shooting at age 12. She eventually returned to the United States, settling down in
El Paso, Texas, and began competing in beauty pageants.
Pageantry Harring won Miss El Paso USA,
Miss Texas USA, then
Miss USA 1985, becoming the first
Hispanic woman to do so. Harring then spent the next year traveling through Asia, exploring Europe and working as a social worker in India. Her national costume at
Miss Universe was a
cowgirl.
Acting Harring began acting in 1987, in the
NBC television movie
The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987). In 1989, she appeared in her first movie,
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!, in the supporting role of Jerri, a flight attendant. In 1990, Harring was lead actress in the
Columbia Pictures release
The Forbidden Dance, in which she played the role of Nisa, a Brazilian princess. That same year, she began a recurring role on the
ABC daytime soap
General Hospital, as Carla Greco. The next few years, she had supporting roles in movies -
Exit to Eden (1994), and
Black Scorpion II: Aftershock (1997). In 1997, she played the role of Paula Stevens in the
NBC soap opera
Sunset Beach. After leaving the show, she guest-starred on
Frasier in the episode "Dial M for Martin", and appeared in the comedy film
Little Nicky. Harring is best known for her performance in
David Lynch's 2001 movie
Mulholland Drive, opposite
Naomi Watts and
Justin Theroux. She played both the characters of Rita (an amnesiac who names herself after
Rita Hayworth when seeing the name on a poster for the movie
Gilda) and Camilla. In response to her performance and the choice of her for the role, film critic
Roger Ebert wrote, "Not many actresses would be bold enough to name themselves after Rita Hayworth, but Harring does, because she can. Slinky and voluptuous in clinging gowns, all she has to do is stand there and she's the first good argument in 55 years for a
Gilda remake." Comparisons were also made between Harring and
Ava Gardner by the
International Herald Tribune. In 2002, she was awarded the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film for her performance. Harring went on to work twice more with Lynch—as an anthropomorphic rabbit in the limited series
Rabbits (2002) and in a
cameo appearance in
Inland Empire (2006). In 2002, she appeared in
John Q, and was female lead opposite
Jean-Claude Van Damme in
Derailed. In 2003, she starred in
Mi Casa, Su Casa together with
Barbara Eden. In 2004, she was the spoiled wife of antagonist Mr. Saint (
John Travolta), Livia Saint in the movie adaptation of
Marvel Comics's
The Punisher. In 2005, Harring starred in the independent film
The King, and later had roles in
Nancy Drew,
Love in the Time of Cholera,
The Caller, and
Drool, in which she plays an abused wife fleeing her husband. In 2006, Harring joined the cast of
FX's crime drama,
The Shield, as defense attorney Rebecca Doyle, appearing in nine episodes of season five. In the role, she is hired by lead character
Vic Mackey to protect his team of corrupt police officers against an Internal Affairs investigation. In the show, she plays a woman posing as the long-lost mother of the character Chuck Bass, before her deceit is discovered by the other characters. She also guest-starred on
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2003,
Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2010, and
NCIS: Los Angeles in 2012 and 2016. Harring was also cast in the independent film
The Loner directed by Daniel Grove. In 2016 she was cast in the English-language remake of the film
Inside, and in Legendary's first digital film
The Thinning, alongside
Logan Paul and
Peyton List. In 2022, she appeared in the romantic comedy
Father of the Bride playing
Diego Boneta's mother.
Personal life In 1987, Harring married
Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck-Schönhausen, great-great-grandson of
Otto von Bismarck. They divorced after two years of marriage in 1989. ==Filmography==