Laila Robins

Laila Robins
Born	(1959-03-14) March 14, 1959 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Robert Cuccioli

Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress.

Life and career

Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents Brigita (née Švarcs) and Jānis, whose surname was originally spelled Robiņš. Her father was a research chemist. Robins has three sisters. She attended the Yale School of Drama, (MFA) and received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, (BA). Robins has been in a relationship with the actor Robert Cuccioli since 2000. They co-starred in Macbeth at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; he was Macbeth, and she was Lady Macbeth.

Robins has won several awards for her work including the Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award, the Helen Hayes Award nomination, the Jefferson Award, the Drama League Award and the Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress.

Theatre

Robins appeared as Lady Utterword in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins' other Broadway appearances were Frozen by Bryony Lavery (2004), The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan (1998), and The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard (1985), directed by Mike Nichols. (Robins succeeded actress Glenn Close in the role).

Robins has appeared off-Broadway in Sore Throats by Howard Brenton, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright (in which she also toured with Uta Hagen) (1995–1996), Burnt Piano by Justin Fleming and The Film Society by Jon Robin Baitz, among others.

In 1997 she starred in the Fiftieth Anniversary production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Robin also appeared as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 2002. In 2000, she was cast opposite Richard Thomas in the stage revival of Tiny Alice. Robins is also a frequent performer at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where she has starred in Macbeth, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

Charles Isherwood, critic for The New York Times, assessed her stage work as Ariadne in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins played opposite Swoosie Kurtz, and Isherwood described both as such: "...this expert comic actress [Kurtz] may not fit the textbook definition of siren, as Hesione is called, but she may just be the most seductive woman on a New York stage right now...unless that nod goes to Ms. Robins, who locates the essence of her character's shallow allure in a languid, liquid strut and a smile both entrancing and devouring".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Planes, Trains and Automobiles	Susan Page
1987	A Walk on the Moon	Marty Ellis
1989	An Innocent Man	Kate Rainwood
1990	Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael	Elizabeth Zaks
1995	Live Nude Girls	Rachel
1996	Female Perversions	Emma
1997	The Blood Oranges	Catherine
1999	True Crime	Patricia Findley
1999	Oxygen	Frances Hannon
2000	Drop Back Ten	Viv
2001	The Loneliness of Animals	Annabella	Short film
2002	Searching for Paradise	Barbara Mattei
2003	Happy End	Irene
2004	Jailbait	Mother
2006	Slippery Slope	Michaela Stark
2006	Things That Hang from Trees	Miss Millie
2006	A Broken Sole	Passenger
2006	The Good Shepherd	Toddy Allen
2008	August	Ottmar Peevo
2008	The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond	Mrs. Fenstermaker
2009	Welcome to Academia	Deborah
2010	Multiple Sarcasms	Lauren
2012	The Letter	Dr. Tynan
2013	Blumenthal	Cheryl
2014	She's Lost Control	Irene
2015	Grey Lady	The Duchess	Completed
2015	Valeria	Shirley	Short film, post-production
2016	A Woman, a Part	Bernadette	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	The Equalizer	Cindy Claussen	"The Last Campaign"
1989	Dream Breakers	Phoebe	TV film
1990-1991	Gabriel's Fire	Victoria Heller	Main role
1992	Trial: The Price of Passion	Charm Blackburn	TV film
1995	The Wright Verdicts	Rachel	"Unlucky Star"
1996	Law & Order	Diana Hawthorne	"Trophy"
1997	Nothing Sacred	Jeanne Cole	"House of Rage"
1998	Law & Order	Liann Crosby	"Venom"
1999	Spenser: Small Vices	Rita Fiore	TV film
1999	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Ellen Travis	"A Single Life"
1999-2001	The Sopranos	Young Livia Soprano	"Down Neck", "Fortunate Son"
2000	Third Watch	Sharon Reiner	"Journey to the Himalayas"
2001	Witchblade	Dominique Boucher	"Conundrum", "Diplopia"
2001	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Kit Sternman	"Enemy Within"
2004	Sex and the City	Audra Clark	"The Cold War"
2006	The Book of Daniel	Nora Paxton	4
2009	30 Rock	Gloria Baird	"St. Valentine's Day"
2009	All My Children	Claire Williams	3 episodes
2009	In Treatment	Tammy Meswick	Recurring role
2009-2010	Bored to Death	Priscilla Antrem	Recurring role
2010	God in America	Anne Hutchinson	"A New Adam/A New Eden"
2010	The Good Wife	Paige Burchfield	"Bad Girls"
2011	Too Big to Fail	Christine Lagarde	TV film
2011	Blue Bloods	Mrs. Lee	"Friendly Fire"
2011	Person of Interest	Anja Kohl	"Foe"
2012	Dark Horse	Miranda Teras	TV film
2013	Onion News Empire	Helena Zweibel	TV film
2014	The Money	Ruth Castman	TV film
2014	That Hopey Changey Thing	Marian Apple	TV film
2014	Sweet and Sad	Marian Apple	TV miniseries
2014	Regular Singing	Marian Apple	TV miniseries
2014	Homeland	Martha Boyd	Regular role
2015	Murder in the First	Jamie Nelson	Main role

Stage appearances

• The Real Thing (1985)...Annie (Replacement); Plymouth Theatre (Broadway)
• Summer and Smoke (1986)...Alma Winemiller; Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
• Bloody Poetry (1987)...Mary Shelley; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Film Society (1988)...Nan Sinclair; Second Stage Theatre/McGinn-Cazale Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Lady from the Sea (1988)...Cast; Baltimore Center Stage (Baltimore, MD)
• Maids of Honor (1990)...Monica Bowlin; WPA Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Extra Man (1992)...Laura; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Women (1993)...Cast; Hartford Stage Company (Hartford, CT)
• The Merchant of Venice (1995)... Portia; Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Mrs. Klein (1996)...Melitta; National Tour
• Mrs. Klein (1995)... Melitta; Lucille Lortel Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Skylight (1997)...Kyra Hollis; Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1997)...Blanche du Bois; Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
• The Herbal Bed (1998)...Susanna Hall; Eugene O'Neill Theatre (Broadway)
• Fool for Love (1999)...May; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• Tiny Alice (2000)...Cast; Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Hedda Gabler (2000)... Hedda Gabler; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Burnt Piano (2001) ...Karen; HB Playwrights Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Three Sisters (2001)...Masha; New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre (Madison, NJ)
• Antony and Cleopatra (2002)...Cleopatra; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Resurrection Blues (2002)...Emily; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Fiction (2003)...Linda; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• King John (2003)... Constance; New Jersey Shakespeare Theater (Madison, NJ)
• Macbeth (2004)...Lady Macbeth; The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Frozen (2004)...Agnetha; Circle in the Square Theatre (Broadway)
• Frozen (2004)... Agnetha; MCC Theater (Off-Broadway)
• Heartbreak House (2006)...Lady Utterwood; American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)
• A Street Car Named Desire (2008) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Noises Off (2009) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• The Dance of Death (2013) The Red Bull Theater (New York, NY)

External links

• Laila Robins at the Internet Movie Database
• Laila Robins at the Internet Broadway Database
• List of stage credits and other information