Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Hayward in the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991). After portraying Stacy in Penelope Spheeris's comedy Wayne's World (1992), Boyle had a lead role in John Dahl's neo-noir film Red Rock West (1993), followed by roles in Threesome (1994), Cafe Society (1995), and Happiness (1998). From 1997 to 2003, Boyle portrayed Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in the ABC television series The Practice for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Sally Flynn, a clerical worker, assistant, and manager, and Michael L. Boyle. Her paternal grandfather was U.S. Representative Charles A. Boyle. She has Irish, German, and Italian ancestry. She is named after a character in Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. Her father left when she was six, causing her and her mother to move to smaller quarters. Around this time, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts.
In 1986, Boyle landed a small part in John Hughes's teen comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which earned her a SAG card, though her scenes were deleted from the final cut of the film. Subsequently, Boyle had a supporting role as Jackie Bradford in the television miniseries Amerika (1987), followed by guest appearances on episodes of the series Jack and Mike (1987) and Sable (1987).

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