Ashley Laurence

Most known in the film world as a scream queen, American actress Ashley Laurence has developed a large following for her work in the Hellraiser franchise. Throughout her career, she has branched out, however, into other genres and is even beginning to dabble in writing.

Lori Cohen, known professionally as Ashley Laurence, was born May 28, 1966 in Los Angeles, California. Laurence made her onscreen debut in 1982 with a recurring role on the television series Capitol. She earned her first role in the campy 1987 production entitled The Fighter. She costarred with Richard Norton, but the film never reached a wide audience. Furthermore, it was a total flop with those that did view the film.

Luckily, 1987 would also provide the film for which Laurence would be most associated. She was cast in a major role opposite Andrew Robinson in the Clive Barker directorial slasher horror film Hellraiser.

Laurence won roles in the sequels as well, which include Hellbound: Hellraiser II in 1988 and Hellraiser: Hellseeker in 2002. She is also remembered for her part in the HP Lovecraft film adaptation Lurking Fear with Vincent Schiavelli.

Outside the horror genre, Laurence took a multitude of roles in little known films such as 1990’s Face the Edge, Deuce Coupe in 1992, and Triplecross with Billy Dee Williams and James Hong.

Although Laurence had developed a sizable cult following for her prolific work in the horror genre, her mainstream breakout role did not come until 2004. It was in this year she won a large role in the film Lightning Bug directed and written by Robert Hall. It starred Bret Harrison, Laura Prepon, Kevin Gage, and Lucas Till.

Even with this increased exposure, Laurence still did not manage to win roles in widely distributed or critically praised work. Instead, she continued much as she had in her youth, taking small roles in mostly horrors that were panned by the critics but drew a loyal fan base.

This was exactly the case with 2005’s Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder starring Kellie Martin and 2007’s Chill with Thomas Calabro and James Russo. The latter was another film version of a HP Lovecraft story.

Keeping busy, Laurence is currently in post-production for the Jack Ketchum novel Red with Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, and Amanda Plummer. She is also in pre-production for a crime drama entitled Small Time Crime.

There are also talks about the film Old Scratch, which would be co-written by Laurence. Currently, comedic actor Rob Schneider is attached, although those details are liable to change by the release of the film.

In her personal life, Laurence is a devoted family woman, putting her career on hold from 1997 to 1999 in order to focus on her family’s needs.