Stephanie Zimbalist

Stephanie Zimbalist (born October 8, 1956) is an American actress best known for her role as Laura Holt on the NBC detective series Remington Steele.

Role in Remington Steele
In Remington Steele, Stephanie Zimbalist acted out the character of Laura Holt. Not getting business when she hanged out her shingle as a private investigator, Holt blamed it on sexual discrimination and made up a fictitious male superior to draw clients who would not care about the lack of availability of Remington Steele, as she named him.

Early life
Zimbalist was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of Loranda Stephanie (née Spalding) and actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Her grandfather, Efrem Zimbalist, was a concert violinist, teacher and composer, and her grandmother, Alma Gluck, was a leading soprano. Her step-aunt, Marcia Davenport was an author and historian.

The Zimbalist heritage is Jewish, though Efrem Zimbalist adopted Protestantism and Efrem Jr. became a Christian Evangelist with a faith in mystical "cell therapy."

Education
Zimbalist graduated from Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. She briefly attended the Juilliard School before commencing her acting career.

Career
Early television and movie appearances include Forever, The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal, The Awakening (with Charlton Heston) and The Golden Moment, in which she played a Soviet Olympic gymnast. She co-starred with her father, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, in the 1979 TV movie The Best Place to Be, which also starred Donna Reed.

An early role for Zimbalist was that of Ellie Zendt in the mini-series of the James Michener epic novel "Centennial", first televised on NBC between October 1978 and February 1979. She went on to portray detective Laura Holt on the romantic comedy-mystery series Remington Steele, co-starring Pierce Brosnan (1982 to 1987).

Since then, Zimbalist has taken leading roles in several television movies such as the Emmy-award winning Caroline? (1990) and some guest roles in television series such as Touched by an Angel.

On stage, Zimbalist played opposite Tommy Tune in the touring musical My One and Only and took the featured role of "Sylvia." She has made several appearances with the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California, winning a "Robby Award" for Best Actress in a Drama in The Rainmaker, staged by Rubicon in 2001.

More recently, Zimbalist has taken roles in plays concerning nineteenth-century artists including Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Van Gogh. She has also released audio books including "The Girls" and "Queen of the Underworld". "The Girls" received a Listen-Up award in 2006.

Zimbalist appeared in the 2006 documentary "Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars". She also played Christa McAuliffe in the play "Defying Gravity."

She has been a supporter of the Tennessee Williams Festival of New Orleans.

In 2008, Zimbalist, through her official website, asked that her fans no longer send her letters or gifts, stating that she had received enough.

Filmography

 * Lucy's Piano (2006) as Alice
 * Truth (2005) (V) as Meredith
 * Judging Amy as Ms. Friedman (1 episode, 2003)
 * Crossing Jordan as Mrs. Sullivan (1 episode, 2003)
 * Touched by an Angel as Dr. Kate Calder /(2 episodes, 1997-2001)
 * Malpractice (2001) as Beth Garrett
 * Nash Bridges as Joy Larson (1 episode, 2001)
 * V.I.P. as Bobbi Canary (1 episode, 2001)
 * Bread and Roses (2000) (uncredited) as Stephanie Zimbalist - Party Guest
 * Family Law as Elizabeth Lane (1 episode, 2000)
 * Borderline Normal (2000) as Vicky Walling
 * Chicken Soup for the Soul (1 episode, 1999)
 * Diagnosis Murder as Vanessa Sellars (1 episode, 1999)
 * Twice in a Lifetime as Dana Hancock (1 episode, 1999)
 * The Prophet's Game (1999) as Francis Aldobrandi
 * Prison of Secrets (1997) (TV) as Lynn Schaffer
 * Dead Ahead (1996) (TV) as Maura Loch
 * Stop the World, I Want to Get Off (1996) (TV) as Evie/Anya/Ara/Ginnie
 * Whose Daughter Is She? (1995) (TV) as Cathy
 * The Great Elephant Escape (1995) (TV) as Beverly Cunningham
 * Voices from Within (1994) (TV) as Ann Parkhurst
 * Batman The Animated Series as D.A. Janet Van Dorn (1 episode, 1994)
 * Incident in a Small Town (1994) (TV) as Lily Margaret Bell
 * Animated Stories from the Bible: Music Video - Volume 2 (1994) (V) (voice)
 * Animated Stories from the Bible: Music Video - Volume 1 (1994) (V) (voice) as Eve
 * Jericho Fever (1993) (TV) as Bonnie Whitney
 * The Hidden Room as Della (1 episode, 1993)
 * Sexual Advances (1992) (TV) as Paula Pratt
 * Breaking the Silence (1992) (TV) as Janey Kirkland
 * The Story Lady (1991) (TV) as Julie Pollard
 * The Killing Mind (1991) (TV) as Isobel Neiman
 * Caroline? (1990) (TV) as Caroline
 * Personals (1990) (TV)
 * The Hitchhiker as Heather (1 episode, 1989)
 * The Man in the Brown Suit (1989) (TV) as Anne Beddingfeld
 * Celebration Family (1987) (TV) as Janet Marston
 * Remington Steele as Laura Holt (94 episodes, 1982-1987)
 * A Letter to Three Wives (1985) (TV) as Debra Bishop
 * Love on the Run (1985) (TV) as Diana Rockland
 * Tomorrow's Child (1982) (TV) as Kay Spence
 * Elvis and the Beauty Queen (1981) (TV) as Linda Thompson
 * The Babysitter (1980) (TV) as Joanna Redwine
 * The Awakening (1980) as Margaret Corbeck
 * The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980) (TV) as Anya Andreyev
 * Hagen as Linda (1 episode, 1980)
 * The Best Place to Be (1979) (TV) as Maryanne Callahan
 * Family as Josie (1 episode, 1979)
 * The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (1979) (TV) as Connie
 * Long Journey Back (1978) (TV) as Celia Casella
 * Centennial (1978) TV mini-series as Elly Zendt
 * The Magic of Lassie (1978) as Kelly Mitchell
 * The Love Boat as Jenny Lang (2 episodes, 1978)
 * Forever (1978) (TV) as Katherine Danziger
 * The Gathering (1977) (TV) as Toni Thornton
 * In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan (1977) (TV) as Mary Ellen Quinlan
 * Lucan as Tashi (1 episode, 1977)
 * Yesterday's Child (1977) (TV) as Ann Talbot