Laura Harrier

Laura Ruth Harrier (born March 28, 1990) is an American actress and model.

She began modeling at the age of 17 after she was discovered by a location scout.

She moved to New York City where she continued modeling and was represented by agencies such as IMG Models and Wilhelmina Models.

She modeled for various mainstream magazines, appeared in campaigns for Urban Outfitters, Macy's and Steve Madden, and was the face of Garnier.

After appearing in several commercials and student films, Harrier decided to pursue acting and studied at the William Esper Studio.

Laura Ruth Harrier was born on March 28, 1990, in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in Evanston, Illinois.

Her father, Temujin Harrier, is African American and her mother, Linda (née Sagan), is of Polish and English descent.

Her father works in insurance and her mother is a speech pathologist.

She has one younger brother, William.

Her great-grandfather, through her maternal grandmother, Margaret Pickett Sagan, was J. Waskom Pickett, a notable minister, missionary, and philanthropist.

As a child, she had a speech impediment until three years old, which her mother cured.

Harrier was shy, so her mother put her in acting classes to gain more confidence.

She attended Evanston Township High School, where she took some drama classes and played sports.

While in high school, she became particularly interested in fashion and was voted best dressed.

She began modeling at the age of 17 after being discovered by her mother's friend, a location scout.

After graduating high school in 2008, Harrier moved to New York City to study art history at the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Upon arrival, Harrier chose to defer enrollment to continue a career in modeling.

Throughout her modeling career she was represented by several prestigious agencies including IMG Models, Wilhelmina Models, and Elite Model Management.

Harrier modeled for magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Glamour.

Additionally, she modeled for campaigns with companies such as Urban Outfitters, Macy's, American Eagle, Target, ALDO, Steve Madden, and L'Oréal.

She was the face for Garnier for a time and appeared in one of their national commercials.

She eventually found modeling to be unfulfilling and pursued acting after appearing in commercials and student films.

She was first recognized for her role as Destiny Evans in the 2013 one-season reboot of the American soap opera One Life to Live.

While studying at the William Esper Studio, her first acting job was the main role of Destiny Evans in the only season of the web series reboot of the American soap opera One Life to Live (2013).

The role was originated by actress Shenell Edmonds, who was offered the opportunity to reprise it in the reboot but declined; Harrier took over the role after auditioning.

Errol Lewis from the Soap Opera Network wrote that Harrier "[has] nicely taken on the life of [her character]" and "the chemistry between [her and her on-screen boyfriend] is instantly there while leaving you wanting more".

Harrier next guest starred as Amber in the television series Unforgettable (2014), and made her film debut in The Last Five Years (2014) as a young woman who has an affair with Jamie, Jeremy Jordan's character.

She was cast in the AMC pilot Galyntine (2014), opposite Alycia Debnam-Carey, which was filmed but not taken to series.

Harrier studied acting in the two-year program the William Esper Studio, graduating in 2015.

After graduating, she thought she would be doing "weird, Off Broadway theater".

In 2015, she appeared in the film 4th Man Out, and in her last year at William Esper she was cast in Codes of Conduct, an HBO miniseries pilot created by Steve McQueen.

Harrier considers this pilot to be her "first real job".

The pilot was filmed but the series was canceled and never aired.

Harrier starred alongside Rowan Blanchard and Mahershala Ali in The Realest Real, a campaign film directed by Carrie Brownstein for luxury French fashion brand Kenzo in 2016.

Harrier's role as Peter Parker's love interest Liz Allan in Spider-Man: Homecoming brought her international attention in 2017.

She gained further recognition for portraying civil rights activist Patrice Dumas in BlacKkKlansman (2018), receiving a Black Reel Award nomination.

She starred as an art student in the independent drama film Balance, Not Symmetry in 2019.

In 2020, she received further attention for starring as Camille Washington in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood.

Harrier is an ambassador for Louis Vuitton, and has modeled for other luxury brands like Bulgari, Calvin Klein, and Boss.

She is outspoken about issues relating to civil rights and equality, frequently using her social media to raise awareness.