Traci
Lords
Traci
Lords, who is the middle of three sisters, was born
and raised in Steubenville, Ohio. When she was 12, her mother, a
schoolteacher, moved her daughters to Redondo Beach, Calif. At 18,
Traci Lords began studying at the famed Lee Strasberg
Institute, and soon after, was cast in Roger Corman's feature film
"Not of This Earth," a science-fiction cult favorite.
However, it was the campy film "Cry Baby" (directed by
John Waters) that elevated Traci Lords' legitimate
profile among casting directors. She pursued the role vigorously,
and was added to an eclectic cast that included Johnny Depp, Iggy
Pop and Ricki Lake. After the film's opening, Traci Lords
was approached with many offers for guest-starring TV roles, and
she appeared in such series as "MacGyver," "Wiseguy,"
"Superforce," "Married ... with Children." Perhaps
her most notable TV credits prior to "Profiler" were her
recurring roles in "Melrose Place" (as Rikki, a cult leader)
and in "Roseanne."
Traci Lords
TV credits also include the miniseries "Stephen King's 'The
Tommyknockers'" (in which she played a woman who was overtaken
by a mysterious force), the movies "As Good As Dead" and
"Intent to Kill." Among her other feature films are "Serial
Mom," "Virtuosity," "A Time to Die," "The
Nutty Nut," and a succession of soon-to-be-released independent
movies, including "Extramarital" (which she also produced),
"Boogie Boy," "Blade" and "The Killing
Club."
In recent years, Traci Lords has posed for celebrity
calendars and posters, which she also helped design. She is preparing
a second musical album with a techno flavor for Radioactive Records
(due next spring) as a followup to her first album, "1,000
Fires."
In her leisure time, Traci Lords enjoys tennis,
swimming, hiking and boxing ("It's a good way to vent and still
get a good workout!"), and also likes gardening and working
on her music. She contributes some of her time and energy to Children
of the Night, a charitable organization dedicated to keeping underage
children and teens off the streets of Hollywood. She resides in
Los Angeles. Her birthday is May 7.
