Lori Singer was born into a home of performing artists in the lush warmth of the Gulf of Mexico in Corpus Christi, Texas. She grew up in Texas, in the mountains and rugged coastline of Oregon, and in the eclectic vibrancy of New York City. In the Northwest, Lori studied cello with esteemed Piatigorsky protege Barton Frank and, at thirteen years-old, made her debut as soloist with the Oregon Symphony with Barton Frank conducting. In New York City, Lori studied dance at the New York School of Dance, and acting with Fred Kareman, Stella Adler, and was honored to be accepted into Sandy Meisner's class. At age fourteen, Lori was admitted to Juilliard to study with the masterful Leonard Rose.
Lori comes from a very close family. Her father, Jacques Singer, was an internationally known conductor of orchestras, and in the United States, was the resident conductor of the Dallas, Corpus Christi, Vancouver, and Oregon Symphonies, to name a few. He was a world traveled guest conductor of major orchestras including the Suisse Romande, the London Royal Philharmonic, and many orchestras in Europe, South American, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Lori's mother, Leslie Singer, was a chamber and concert pianist. Lori credits her parents and three brothers: (actor Marc Singer, conductor Gregory, and Claude, a brand strategist, writer and doctor of history) to have been tremendous influences on her formative years. Her uncle, Sidney Foster, was a renown concert pianist and winner of the Leventritt Piano competition. Her mother's second cousin, actor Raymond Massey, portrayed a much lauded President Lincoln on film. Her father conducted Antony and Cleopatra on Broadway with the brilliant Laurence Olivier. Lori's godfather was Yehudi Menuhin.
Lori's childhood was filled with great artists rehearsing or discussing their upcoming concerts and performances in her living room and around the dinner table where her parents would regularly host famous actors, musicians, and politicians. She has fond memories of Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copeland with her father before weekly concerts. The Singer family living room vibrated with rehearsals of music and Shakespeare being memorized, at almost every moment of the day and night. The magic of timeless art was living in this household.
Lori is a Golden Globe winning actress for her role as cast member in Robert Altman's " Shortcuts". She won 'ShoWest Newcomer of the Year' for her role as Ariel Moore in the film "Footloose", and was nominated for best supporting actress for an Indie Spirit Award for "Trouble in Mind." Her documentaries have won 5 Emmys, a Peabody, have been short-listed for an Oscar, and have won well over twenty film festivals, including Toronto Hot Docs.
After the huge success of Herb Ross' "Footloose", Singer went on to act in such films as Altman's "Short Cuts," John Schlesinger's "The Falcon and the Snowman," "Warlock," "The Man with One Red Shoe," Alan Rudolph's "Trouble in Mind," and "Equinox," to name a few. In 2015, Lori enjoyed a cameo in Michael Almereyda's "Experimenter" about the Stanley Milgram experiment. Lori substantially contributed to the earliest concept and treatment, and went on to Executive Produce " Mea Maxima Culpa; Silence in the House of God", directed by the highly acclaimed Alex Gibney, which won four Prime Time Emmys, a Peabody, and the London Documentary Film Festival. Lori went on to play the title vocal role as Linda Bishop in " God Knows Where I Am" which won Toronto Hot Docs, an Emmy and 20 film festivals. Lori Singer just starred in "Rachel Hendrix" by Victor Nunez in which she plays "Rachel", which was released in spring 2023 and won Best Narrative at the Woodstock Film Festival in October 2023.
Singer, also a concert cellist, brought her musical talent and sensibilities to her film portrayal of a doctor torn between music and medicine, playing with Yo Yo Ma in Atom Egoyan's "Inspired by Bach," and to her role in "Shortcuts", as the classical musician - daughter of a jazz singer. She has both vocal & solo recordings on RCA and Imago.
