During the early ’90s, there were few TV actresses hotter in Hollywood than Lara Flynn Boyle. After a handful of supporting credits in the late ’80s in movies like “Poltergeist III” and shows like “Amerika,” Boyle landed a main cast role as Donna Hayward on David Lynch and Mark Frost’s genre-bending supernatural mystery series “Twin Peaks.” When the show quickly became a pop culture sensation, Boyle was launched to stardom, and she got plenty of opportunities to show off her talents in the show’s first season, where Donna is particularly central to the plot.
In the wake of her “Twin Peaks” fame, Boyle appeared in a number of prominent movies through the early ’90s, playing Stacy in “Wayne’s World” and co-starring in the 1992 Matthew Modine film “Equinox,” among others. She was also a prominent face in celebrity news through the decade, dating other stars like “Twin Peaks” castmate Kyle MacLachlan, comedian David Spade, and Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson. And while she stayed quite active in Hollywood for the next 15 years or so, she hasn’t spent much time in the spotlight more recently.
Over the years, Boyle has discussed her slide out of the limelight and how aging actresses often struggle to find quality roles in the entertainment industry — an issue that’s been called out more and more in modern times. Of course, she hasn’t been entirely retired, either. Here’s where Lara Flynn Boyle has been since “Twin Peaks” and what she’s up to now.
Lara Flynn Boyle gained even more acclaim for her starring TV role on The Practice
While “Twin Peaks” generated a zeitgeist unlike many other shows in history, it burned brightly but quickly. “Twin Peaks” season 2 remains controversial, and it certainly wasn’t as big of a hit as its first set of episodes. Lara Flynn Boyle’s next major starring role on television lasted longer and earned her even more acclaim. In 1997, she began playing the part of Helen Gamble on the acclaimed ABC legal drama “The Practice” — a character she portrayed in over 130 episodes.
It’s a fun character — a hotshot assistant district attorney who enters the show in its sophomore season and stays nearly until the end. In 1999, Boyle even got a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Helen in the category of Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Boyle’s run on “The Practice” lasted until 2003, and her high-profile role on the show wasn’t her only big part during those years. In the same timeframe, she appeared in movies like “Afterglow,” “Speaking of Sex,” “Chain of Fools,” and “Men in Black II,” establishing herself as a regular presence on the big and small screens alike.
She stayed active in the mid-2000s but didn’t land another big hit
After “The Practice” came to an end, Boyle landed main cast roles in a couple of TV series, but none of them brought her the same kind of success that the legal drama and “Twin Peaks” had delivered in the ’90s. From 2004 to 2005, she played Melody Coatar on “Huff,” a Showtime drama series about the life of a troubled psychiatrist starring Hank Azaria and Paget Brewster. In total, Boyle only appeared in 5 episodes before the show ended with its second season.
From 2005 to 2006, Boyle was a recurring cast member on the NBC series “Las Vegas,” playing casino owner Monica Mancuso in the show’s third season. We won’t spoil it here, but that character gets written out in a pretty absurd fashion after appearing in just eight episodes. Even so, Boyle left her mark.
Around the same time, big things were happening in her personal life. Boyle married Texas real estate investor Donald Ray Thomas II in 2006 — her second husband. The two have been together ever since and are now approaching 20 years of marriage.
Boyle has spoken out about ageist typecasting in Hollywood
Once the 2010s hit, Lara Flynn Boyle’s screen credits started to thin out significantly. She’s only appeared in five movies since 2011, and she hasn’t had an episode on television since 2008. In more recent years, she’s spoken out publicly on that decline, the troubles women tend to face as they grow older in Hollywood, and the level of scrutiny and tabloid publicity she received while a young star. Despite what some might consider plenty to be angry about at this stage of her career, Boyle has generally taken it all in stride and spoken holistically about the good and bad sides of her chosen path.
“Well, it’s not always a pony in a parade, but I chose my career,” the actress told Yahoo in 2021. “This career I have chosen has been kinder to me than it hasn’t. If I can’t roll with the bumps, then I have no business riding the roller coaster.”
Concerning the issue of gendered ageism in the entertainment industry, Boyle has acknowledged it but says that she’s not bitter. “I never wanted to bow out. Any moment I was feeling down or sorry for myself,” she told People in 2024. “My mom used to sometimes bring me articles about other actresses to show me I’m not the only one getting a raw deal.” Some might disagree with her perspective, but in the same interview, she declared that the entertainment industry wasn’t to blame for the struggles aging actors face. “Ageism is human nature,” Boyle told People. “It’s not Hollywood’s fault. It’s all of our fault. Myself included. I like looking at pretty people on the camera.”
She didn’t come back for Twin Peaks: The Return
Even though she hadn’t been too active for a number of years when episodes for “Twin Peaks” season 3, also known as “The Return,” premiered in 2017, many fans of the original show still found it surprising that Lara Flynn Boyle didn’t reprise her classic role as Donna Hayward. The actress hasn’t directly addressed her absence in interviews, and when David Lynch was asked about it by TVLine in 2017, his answer was curt: “These days people love strange Hollywood side stories that have nothing to do with the film. You can go talk to Lara Flynn Boyle. This is a story that takes place without her.”
It’s worth noting that Boyle had already made a fairly high-profile departure from “Twin Peaks” by not playing Donna in the psychedelic prequel/sequel film “Fire Walk with Me” in 1992. She wasn’t the only original cast member not to come back, but she was the most notable absence given Donna’s key role as Laura Palmer’s best friend. The role was recast for the film, rather than being cut, with Moira Kelly filling in as Donna on the big screen.
It’s likely given Boyle’s stardom at the time that this was all simply due to scheduling conflicts, though many cast members have also expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of “Twin Peaks” season 2, which could have played a role as well.
Lara Flynn Boyle most recently appeared in the drama film Mother, Couch
In 2023, Lara Flynn Boyle appeared in her first film in three years — writer/director Niclas Larsson’s family drama “Mother, Couch.” The movie debuted at TIFF and was distributed more widely in 2024. It’s a relatively tight cast, with other big names including Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans, and Taylor Russell. Prior to that, she had a prominent role in the 2020 drama “Death in Texas” alongside Bruce Dern, Ronnie Gene Blevins, and Stephen Lang.
In her 2025 interview with People, Boyle discussed “Mother, Couch” while talking about her larger career state. “You have to promote yourself,” she said, explaining her approach to balancing work and peace, “but then you have to sit back and wash your hands of it.” In the same article, Larsson praised Boyle immensely and explained that he specifically sought her out for the part after realizing he hadn’t seen her on screen much in a while.
With what seems to be a very fulfilling personal life and occasional acting projects still streaming in, Boyle claims to be in a good place. And we certainly haven’t seen the last of her on the big screen.
