|  Leah
Lail, a star of the syndicated television show V.I.P., is more
politically astute than your average Hollywood actresses. Before being
bitten by the acting bug, she majored in political science in college.
She earned a scholarship to work for a semester with the Social Democratic
Party in Bonn, Germany. And she's a libertarian.
During the 2000 election, The Los Angeles Times ran a story
about what some "informed Californians" thought about the
Bush-Gore presidential debates. When asked about her political philosophy,
Lail responded: "Libertarian" (October 12, 2000). While the
newspaper didn't give Lail a chance to elaborate, her pro-liberty beliefs
may date back to a college spring break, when she visited the former
Soviet Union -- and got a close-up view of totalitarianism.
Whatever the cause, Lail has retained her distrust of government. In
an appearance on Politically Incorrect (May 29, 2002), she
shared this opinion about government-run health care: "The answer
is not having the government run anything to do with medicine. Because
if you think the HMOs are bad, have the federal government take over;
it's going to be HMO to the tenth power. And there's going to be a lot
more committees to go to instead of just that one, and you'll be waiting
longer."
However, don't expect Lail to be a vocal libertarian. In an interview
on E Online, Lail said she downplays her politics in favor
of acting. "I realized that I would prefer to be an actor, where
I can have political interests, but not do that full time," she
said. In fact, an occasional appearance as a guest on Politically
Incorrect is "all the politics anyone ever needs!" she
said.
Born on a horse farm in Tennessee, Lail graduated summa cum laude from
the University of Southern California with degrees in German and theater,
and a minor in political science. After a stint in New York, she moved
to Los Angeles where she appeared in the movies D2: The Mighty Ducks
(1994), Heavyweights (1995), My Engagement Party (1998),
and Denial (1998). She also had a small role in Adam Sandler's
Little Nicky (2000).
On
television, she made guest appearances in a number of shows, including
Seinfeld (1992), The Larry Sanders Show (1994), Matlock
(1994), ER (1996), Boston Common (1996), Diagnosis
Murder (2001), Providence (2002), and Touched By An
Angel (2002).
Lail landed her highest-profile role in 1998, playing the beautiful
computer expert Kay Simmons on the syndicated television show V.I.P.
The show, which ran until 2002, involved an elite bodyguard agency led
by Pamela Anderson Lee that protected the rich and famous in Hollywood.
Kentucky magazine called V.I.P. "a campy show"
that blended "action and physical comedy with an array of flashy
costumes against a glitzy L.A. backdrop."
--
Bill Winter |
