Valerie Landsburg (born August 12, 1958) is an American actress, television and film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as Doris Schwartz in the 1982 series Fame, interpreting, for television, the role that Maureen Teefy had originated in the film. She was also the lead singer on the UK top five hit "Hi Fidelity". Producer Alan Landsburg was her father, and she appeared in at least one installment of True Confessions, an anthology series program he produced.

Biography

Born in New York City to Sally Landsburg, a psychologist and author, and Alan Landsburg. Landsburg made her acting debut in the 1978 disco movie Thank God It's Friday. In 1980 she took over the role of Libby in Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures. In 1982, she appeared in the NBC television series Fame. During the series run, Landsburg wrote and directed one episode of the series. Shortly after Landsburg left the show in 1987, she co-starred in two different comedy TV series, which practically ran at the same time. The first, You Again?, starred Jack Klugman, and lasted for one season. From the creators of Cheers, next came the Bess Armstrong series All Is Forgiven, which NBC cancelled after nine episodes. Despite its limited engagement, the series was rebroadcast on the A&E network through 1989, where it gained a broader audience.

Outside of doing recurring roles in Hotel and Dream On, she did not star in another TV series. She appeared in about a dozen made-for-TV movies and guest appearances on other TV series including Murder, She Wrote, Beverly Hills, 90210, Empty Nest, Nip/Tuck and The Unit among others. In between TV and film projects, she has appeared on stage plays. In addition to acting, Landsburg has directed several feature films and episodic television shows.

In 2001, she released an album of mostly her own compositions, called Grownup. Among the tracks was a re-recording of "Hi Fidelity".

She is a life member of Asian Academy of Film & Television.

Best films