Laura Prepon

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Laura Prepon

Prepon at PaleyFest 2014, representingOrange Is the New Black

Born

March 7, 1980 (age 35)

Watchung, New Jersey, U.S.

Occupation

Actress, model, film producer

Years active

1995present

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Laura Prepon (/lr pripn/; born March 7, 1980[1]) is an American actress, known for her
role as Donna Pinciotti in all eight seasons of the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. She is also
known for the role of Hannah Daniels on the ABC drama October Road and her role as Alex
Vause in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black. She has voiced a character in
the animated TV series, King of the Hill, as well as a marine in the video game Halo 2.
Following That '70s Show, Prepon worked mainly in television, guest-starring in episodes
of How I Met Your Mother, Medium, and Castle. In 2011, Prepon was cast in the lead role of

Chelsea in the short-lived sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?, based on Chelsea Handler's
2008 book Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life
2 Career
o 2.1 19952005
o 2.2 That '70s Show
o 2.3 20052010
o 2.4 2011present
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 References
6 External links

Early life[edit]
Prepon was born in Watchung, New Jersey,[2] the youngest of five children[3] of Marjorie (ne
Coll), a high school teacher, and Michael Prepon, an orthopedic surgeon. Her father was
of Russian Jewish descent and her mother is of English, German and Irish
Catholic background.[4] Her maternal great-great-great-grandfather was Union Army
General Joseph Bradford Carr.[5] Prepon's father died during heart surgery in 1993 at age
49;[6] Prepon was 13 years old at the time. She attended Watchung Hills Regional High
School. She studied at Caroline Thomas' Total Theater Lab in New York City.[7]

Career[edit]
19952005[edit]
Prepon appeared in such plays as A Woman of Property and Ascension Day while in New
York.[8] In 1996, she studied drama with acting teacher Caroline Thomas at Thomas' Total
Theatre Lab.[9] Later, in September 1997, she premiered on a Levi Strauss-developed show
called They Go On, an Internet-based soap opera.[10] Prepon has also worked as a model
and has done photo shoots in Paris, Milan, and Brazil.[4]
During her hiatus from That '70s Show, Prepon worked on the independent film The
Pornographer: A Love Story. The film tells the story of an obsessive relationship between a
director and an actress. She was also in the film Slackers, which is about two best friends
trying to scam their way through college who eventually get caught.[11] She was nominated for
a Teen Choice Award in 2002 for her role in That '70s Show.[12] In 2001 she got her first
chance to get in front of a movie camera in the independent film Southlander, a
comedy/music film by Steve Hanft starring Beck, Beth Orton and Hank Williams III, in which
she played a young TV telepathic named Seven=Five.[13]
She was a presenter at many different award shows including, Second Annual TV Guide
Awards, in 2000, the 2000 Teen Choice Awards, and the 28th Annual American Music
Awards in 2001.[14] She has graced the cover of Maxim twiceonce with red hair and once
with her hair dyed blondeand has done a TV advertisement for Gap clothing, although it
was never aired.[15] Prepon was named one of Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The
World" in 2002 and one of Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" in 2005.[16] Prepon also had a cameo
voice appearance as a United Nations Space Command marine in Halo 2, which was
released in 2004.[15] Her first notable film role came in 2004, with the dark drama Lightning

Bug which also starred Bret Harrison, Kevin Gage, and Ashley Laurence. Branching into
other arenas than acting, Prepon also served as executive producer of the film.[17]
She has been a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2003 and 2004, and Last Call
with Carson Daly in 2003 and 2005. She also appeared on an episode of MTV's Cribs in
2003.[14]

That '70s Show[edit]

Prepon is best known for her starring role as Donna Pinciotti on the Fox television
series That '70s Show, from 1998 to 2006. Donna was Eric's girlfriend and next door
neighbor. Randy, who was introduced in the eighth and final season of the series, was
Donna's third love interest after Eric was written out of the series.

20052010[edit]

Prepon in 2008

In 2005, Prepon starred in the film Karla, the true story of Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla
Homolka, a couple who kidnapped, sexually abused and murdered three young girls,
marking a contrast to her usual lighthearted roles.[8] She was also an executive
producer of E! Hollywood Hold'em the same year.[18] Prepon was a cast member of
the ABC showOctober Road, which debuted March 15, 2007. The show was canceled by
ABC on May 12, 2008, despite strong ratings and a grassroots campaign from the show's
fanbase to keep the show alive. In April 2007, she starred in a short film Once Upon a Time.
She also appeared in the 2005 Oxygen film Romancing the Bride. She also was the original
voice forHayley Smith on American Dad! and voiced her in an unaired pilot.[19] She appeared
as Lauren, Mary's long-lost sister, on USA Network's In Plain Sight in the episode "A Frond
in Need".[20] On February 5, 2010, it was announced that Prepon signed on for Awkward
Situations for Men, a pilot on ABC.[21] In 2009, Prepon appeared in How I Met Your Mother as
Karen, one of Ted's girlfriends, in the episode "Sorry, Bro". She was also in episodes "The
Front Porch" in 2009, "Say Cheese" in 2010 and appeared in the episode "Private Lives",
(House M.D.).[22]

2011present[edit]
In early 2011, Prepon was on an episode of Castle, playing an actress studying for the role
of Nikki Heat, a character created by Castle.[23] In February 2011, Prepon was cast as main
character Chelsea Newman on the NBC sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?, based on Chelsea
Handler's 2008 book Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.[24] NBC cancelled the show on
May 11, 2012. She then went on to guest star opposite former That '70s Show cast
member Danny Masterson in his show Men at Work.[25] In mid-2012, Prepon signed on to

play Alex Vause, a former drug dealer and Piper Chapman's ex-girlfriend, in
the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black, which premiered in July 2013.[26] Prepon
was a regular in season 1, but appeared in only a few episodes of season 2. She has since
stated that she will return in every episode of season 3.[27]

Personal life[edit]
In a December 2007 interview in Women's Health, Prepon stated that she is
a Scientologist.[28] Prepon dated Christopher Masterson (brother of her That 70's Show costar Danny Masterson) for seven years, before breaking up with him in 2007.[29][30]