Lauri Peters

Lauri Peters (born Patricia Peterson; July 2, 1943) is an American actress, dancer, singer, drama teacher, and author. Early life Lauri Peters was born Patricia Peterson in Detroit, MI on July 2, 1943, to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Peterson. She has three older brothers, Harold, Jr., Victor, and Sidney. The Peterson family moved to Cleveland, OH when Peters was a year old. Having studied dance from a young age, Peters moved to New York City as a teenager to pursue ballet. She was known as Patti Peterson. Career Peters made her broadway debut in 1958 as a replacement in the children's ensemble in Say, Darling. She was credited as Laurie Peterson (there was already a Patti Peterson registered with Actors Equity). Say, Darling closed in January 1959, and two months later she opened in her second Broadway show, First Impressions, this time billed as Lauri Peters. In the fall of 1959, Peters created the role of Liesl Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, which she shared with her sibling castmates. She was married to actor Jon Voight (1962–67), whom she met when he joined the cast as Nazi messenger boy Rolfe, with whom Liesl shares a song ("Sixteen Going on Seventeen") and an attraction. She can be heard on the show's cast album, which has sold more than three million copies in the US. In Britain, she is probably best known as Cliff Richard's romantic lead in the 1963 film Summer Holiday. On film, she also acted alongside Fabian, James Stewart, and Sidney Poitier.