Laurel Holloman

Best known as Tina Kennard on the lesbian-themed drama "The L Word," actress Laurel Holloman discovered her love of acting during her freshman year at the University of North Carolina. She left school to pursue her passion professionally, and bounced from Chicago's Piven Theatre Workshop to Los Angeles, where she trained under John Lynn, to New York, where she took to the stage. Her breakthrough came in 1995, with her starring role in independent film "The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love." She received critical acclaim for the film, which received much attention in the indie and gay communities. She went on to appear in a number of independent films, among them the dramedy "The Myth of Fingerprints," the tragic drama "Boogie Nights," and the familial drama "Tumbleweeds." Holloman had made her way onto television with a few made-for-TV movies and bit parts on the drama "That's Life." In 2001, she earned the recurring role on the popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spin-off "Angel." She played Justine Cooper, the vengeful vampire hunter. Not long after her arc on "Angel" ended, Holloman was cast as the baby-wanting bisexual Tina in Showtime's drama, "The L Word." The show worked Holloman's real life pregnancy into the show, and Tina also got pregnant. While the show was considerd scandalous with its graphic depictions of Sapphic affection, it was also critically praised. Holloman herself won a Golden Satellite Award for her work in 2005. In 2010, Holloman starred in the Hollywood dramedy "Gigantic."