Laila Robins

Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987); Live Nude Girls (1995); True Crime (1999); She's Lost Control (2014); and Eye in the Sky (2015). “A Call to Spy” (2019). Her television credits include regular roles on Gabriel's Fire, Homeland, and Murder in the First. More recently, she has had recurring roles as Katarina Rostova in season 7 of The Blacklist and as Grace Mallory in The Boys. She is also known for playing a younger version of Livia Soprano, the mother of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano, in HBO's crime drama series The Sopranos.

Life and career[]

Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents^[1] Brigita (née Švarcs) and Jānis, whose surname was originally spelled Robiņš. Her father was a research chemist. Robins has three sisters.^[2] She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and attended the Yale School of Drama, earning a master of fine arts. Robins has been in a relationship with the actor Robert Cuccioli since 2000. They co-starred in Macbeth at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; he was Macbeth, and she was Lady Macbeth.^[3][4][5]

Theatre[]

Robins appeared as Lady Utterword in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins' other Broadway appearances were Frozen by Bryony Lavery (2004), The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan (1998), and The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard (1985), directed by Mike Nichols. (Robins succeeded actress Glenn Close in the role).

Robins has appeared Off-Broadway in Sore Throats by Howard Brenton, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright (in which she also toured with Uta Hagen) (1995–1996), Burnt Piano by Justin Fleming and The Film Society by Jon Robin Baitz, among others.

In 1997, she starred in the Fiftieth Anniversary production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Robins also appeared as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 2002. In 2000, she was cast opposite Richard Thomas in the stage revival of Tiny Alice. Robins is also a frequent performer at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where she has starred in Macbeth, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

Charles Isherwood, critic for The New York Times, assessed her stage work as Ariadne in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins played opposite Swoosie Kurtz, and Isherwood described both as such: "...this expert comic actress [Kurtz] may not fit the textbook definition of siren, as Hesione is called, but she may just be the most seductive woman on a New York stage right now...unless that nod goes to Ms. Robins, who locates the essence of her character's shallow allure in a languid, liquid strut and a smile both entrancing and devouring".^[6]

Robins has won or been nominated for several awards for her work including the Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award (1995), for The Merchant of Venice,^[7] the 2012 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble for Sweet and Sad,^[8] the Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress (2004) for Frozen^[9] and Outstanding Lead Actress (2007) for Sore Throats,^[10] the 1997 Joseph Jefferson Award Best Actress for A Streetcar Named Desire at The Steppenwolf Theatre,^[11] the Helen Hayes Award nomination, 1997 Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production for Mrs. Klein,^[12] and the Drama League Award.^[13]

Robins is a guest instructor at HB Studio. ^[14]

Filmography[]

Film[]

2019

“A Call to Spy”

Television[]

Stage[]

• The Real Thing (1985)...Annie (Replacement); Plymouth Theatre (Broadway)
• Summer and Smoke (1986)...Alma Winemiller; Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
• Bloody Poetry (1987)...Mary Shelley; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Film Society (1988)...Nan Sinclair; Second Stage Theatre/McGinn-Cazale Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Lady from the Sea (1988)...Cast; Baltimore Center Stage (Baltimore, MD)
• Maids of Honor (1990)...Monica Bowlin; WPA Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• The Extra Man (1992)...Laura; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
• The Women (1993)...Cast; Hartford Stage Company (Hartford, CT)
• The Merchant of Venice (1995)... Portia; Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Mrs. Klein (1996)...Melitta; National Tour
• Mrs. Klein (1995)... Melitta; Lucille Lortel Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Skylight (1997)...Kyra Hollis; Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1997)...Blanche du Bois; Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
• The Herbal Bed (1998)...Susanna Hall; Eugene O'Neill Theatre (Broadway)
• Fool for Love (1999)...May; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• Tiny Alice (2000)...Cast; Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Hedda Gabler (2000)... Hedda Gabler; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Burnt Piano (2001) ...Karen; HB Playwrights Theatre (Off-Broadway)
• Three Sisters (2001)...Masha; New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre (Madison, NJ)
• Antony and Cleopatra (2002)...Cleopatra; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Resurrection Blues (2002)...Emily; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
• Fiction (2003)...Linda; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
• King John (2003)... Constance; New Jersey Shakespeare Theater (Madison, NJ)
• Macbeth (2004)...Lady Macbeth; The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Frozen (2004)...Agnetha; Circle in the Square Theatre (Broadway)
• Frozen (2004)... Agnetha; MCC Theater (Off-Broadway)
• Heartbreak House (2006)...Lady Utterwood; American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)^[15]
• A Street Car Named Desire (2008) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• Noises Off (2009) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
• The Dance of Death (2013) The Red Bull Theater (New York, NY)
• The Lion in Winter (2016) Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)

References[]

External links[]

• Laila Robins at IMDb
• Laila Robins at the Internet Broadway Database
• Laila Robins at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• List of stage credits and other information
• Family Background and Obituary of Laila Robin's father