Laura Harring

Laura Elena Gräfin von Bismarck-Schönhausen ( Herring Martínez; born March 3, 1964), known professionally as Laura Harring, is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder. In 1985, Harring won Miss USA, and later began acting in television and film. She is best known for her dual roles as Rita and Camilla Rhodes in the 2001 movie Mulholland Drive. She is also known for her roles in other movies, including The Forbidden Dance (1990), John Q (2002), Willard (2003), The Punisher (2004), The King (2005), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Ghost Son (2007), The Caller (2008), Drool (2009), Sex Ed (2014), and Inside (2016). She also played Carla Greco in General Hospital (1990–1991), Paula Stevens on Sunset Beach (1997), and Rebecca "Becca" Doyle in The Shield (2006). Early life Laura Elena Herring Martínez was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico on March 3, 1964, Her mother, María Elena Martínez-Cairo, is a Mexican spiritual teacher, real estate investor, and former secretary. Her father, Raymond Herring, was a Mexican developer and organic farmer of Austrian-German descent. The two divorced in 1971. Harring lived the first ten years of her life in Mexico, before her family relocated to San Antonio, Texas. Harring suffered a head wound from a .45 bullet when she was caught by stray fire from a driveby shooting at age 12. At age 16, she convinced her family to let her study in Switzerland at Aiglon College. Harring studied theatre at the London Academy of Performing Arts, having trained in the Italian commedia dell'arte, as well as Latin dances, including the Argentine tango. She eventually returned to the United States, settling down in El Paso, Texas and began competing in beauty pageants. Career Pagentry Harring won Miss El Paso USA, Miss Texas USA, then Miss USA 1985 becoming the first Hispanic woman to do so. Harring then spent the next year traveling through Asia, exploring Europe and working as a social worker in India.