Lea Thompson
Acting • Born 1961-05-31
Biography
Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in Howard the Duck (1986), and Amanda Jones in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). Other films for which she is known include All the Right Moves (1983), Red Dawn (1984), Dennis the Menace (1993), and The Beverly Hillbillies (1993). In the 1990s, she played the title character in the sitcom Caroline in the City. From 2011 to 2017, she co-starred as Kathryn Kennish in the ABC Family-turned-Freeform series Switched at Birth.
Filmography
132 credits
Back to the Future
Movie • 1985
Lorraine Baines
Back to the Future Part II
Movie • 1989
Lorraine
Back to the Future Part III
Movie • 1990
Maggie McFly / Lorraine McFly
Red Dawn
Movie • 1984
Erica
Howard the Duck
Movie • 1986
Beverly Switzler
Next Stop, Christmas
Movie • 2021
Evelyn
The Little Rascals
Movie • 1994
Ms. Roberts
Senior Skip Day
Movie • 2008
Cathleen Harris
Spy School
Movie • 2008
Claire Miller
Queen
Movie
Dr. Page
Retour vers le futur : Voyage dans le temps, American Dream & rock'n'roll
Movie • 2022
Self
Splinterheads
Movie • 2009
Susan Frost
Dennis the Menace
Movie • 1993
Alice Mitchell
Article 99
Movie • 1992
Dr. Robin Van Dorn
Casual Sex?
Movie • 1988
Stacy
Montana
Movie • 1990
Peg Guthrie
Stealing Christmas
Movie • 2003
Sarah Gibson
SpaceCamp
Movie • 1986
Kathryn
Some Kind of Wonderful
Movie • 1987
Amanda Jones
Rock Slyde
Movie • 2010
Master Bartologist
California Dreaming
Movie • 2007
Ginger Gainor
Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer
Movie • 2010
Laura
The Wild Life
Movie • 1984
Anita
Final Approach
Movie • 2008
Alicia Bender
Exit Speed
Movie • 2008
Maudie McMinn
A Life Interrupted
Movie • 2007
Debbie Smith
Jaws 3-D
Movie • 1983
Kelly Ann Bukowski
All the Right Moves
Movie • 1983
Lisa
Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't
Movie • 2005
Cathy Davis
Jane Doe: Vanishing Act
Movie • 2005
Cathy Davis
Jane Doe: The Wrong Face
Movie • 2005
Cathy Davis
Mayor Cupcake
Movie • 2011
Mary Maroni
The Christmas Clause
Movie • 2008
Sophie
Thin Ice
Movie • 2012
Jo Ann Prohaska
The Trouble with the Truth
Movie • 2012
Emily
A Pretty Good Movie
Movie
Ramona
Jane Doe: Ties That Bind
Movie • 2007
Cathy Davis / Jane Doe
Going Undercover
Movie • 1988
Marigold de la Hunt
J. Edgar
Movie • 2011
Lela Rogers
Fatal Secrets
Movie • 2009
Rebecca
The Making of Some Kind of Wonderful
Movie • 2006
Self
The Wizard of Loneliness
Movie • 1988
Sybil
Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part
Movie • 2005
Cathy Davis
Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss
Movie • 2007
Cathy Davis
Love at the Christmas Table
Movie • 2012
Elissa Beth
Jane Doe: Yes, I Remember It Well
Movie • 2006
Cathy Davis
Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall
Movie • 2006
Cathy Davis
Jane Doe: Eye of the Beholder
Movie • 2008
Cathy Davis / Jane Doe
You Are Here
Movie
Helen
The Cabin
Movie • 2011
Lily MacDougal
John Hughes: Life Moves Pretty Fast
Movie • 2012
Self
Come Away Home
Movie • 2005
Carol
Unplugging
Movie • 2022
Perkins
Fish Don't Blink
Movie • 2002
Clara
The Substitute Wife
Movie • 1994
Amy Hightower
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film
Movie • 2013
Julia
Nightbreaker
Movie • 1989
Sally Matthews
Haunted Lighthouse 4-D
Movie • 2003
Peg Van Legge
Bound by Flesh
Movie • 2012
Voiceover
Ping Pong Summer
Movie • 2014
Mrs. Miracle
Left Behind
Movie • 2014
Irene Steele
The Unknown Cyclist
Movie • 1998
Melissa Cavatelli
The Right to Remain Silent
Movie • 1996
Christine Paley
The Beverly Hillbillies
Movie • 1993
Laura Jackson
Ten Tricks
Movie • 2022
Grace
The Disappearance of Cari Farver
Movie • 2022
Nancy Farver
BRATS
Movie • 2024
Self
Back in Time
Movie • 2015
Self
Milius
Movie • 2013
Self
Cool Cat's Crazy Dream
Movie • 2019
Dream World Lea
Stolen Babies
Movie • 1993
Annie Beales
Game of Your Life
Movie • 2011
Abbie
Keith Lemon's Back t'Future Tribute
Movie • 2015
Self
The Unspoken Truth
Movie • 1995
Brianne Hawkins
The Dog Lover
Movie • 2016
Liz Holloway
Looking Back at the Future
Movie • 2006
Herself
My Mother's Future Husband
Movie • 2014
René Henderson
The Year of Spectacular Men
Movie • 2018
Deb Klein
Looking Back to the Future
Movie • 2009
Self
Literally, Right Before Aaron
Movie • 2017
Deb (Adam's Mom)
Sierra Burgess Is a Loser
Movie • 2018
Mrs. Burgess
Little Women
Movie • 2018
Margaret "Marmee" March
Who We Are Now
Movie • 2018
Alana
The Making of Back to the Future
Movie • 1986
Self
Dinner in America
Movie • 2020
Betty
Tales from the Future
Movie • 2010
Self
Stars Are Already Dead
Movie • 2016
Aunt Sophia
The Making of Jaws 3-D: Sharks Don't Die
Movie • 1983
Mark, Mary + Some Other People
Movie • 2021
Aunty Carol
What If
Movie
SEGAL
Movie • 2025
Self
Over the Hill
Movie • 2018
Sally
The Tony Danza Show
TV • 2004
Self - Guest
Greek
TV • 2007
April
Friends
TV • 1994
Caroline Duffy (uncredited)
Caroline in the City
TV • 1995
Caroline Duffy
Ed
TV • 2000
Liz Stevens
Tales from the Crypt
TV • 1989
Sylvia Vane
E! True Hollywood Story
TV • 1996
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Michelle Osborne
Celebrity Duets
TV • 2006
Intimate Portrait
TV • 1993
Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
TV • 1999
Self - Guest
Switched at Birth
TV • 2011
Kathryn Kennish
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
TV • 2000
Jennifer Rhodes
Family Guy
TV • 1999
Teenaged Girl in Diner (voice)
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
TV • 2013
Self
The Muppets
TV • 2015
Self
Hollywood Squares
TV • 1998
Self - Panelist
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
TV • 2014
Vonnie (voice)
Dancing with the Stars
TV • 2005
Self - Contestant
Star Trek: Picard
TV • 2020
Diane Werner
Scorpion
TV • 2014
Veronica Dineen
The Ready Room
TV • 2019
Self
A Will of their Own
TV • 1998
Amanda Steward
Invincible
TV • 2021
Carol (voice)
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Head Case
TV • 2007
Self
The Larry Sanders Show
TV • 1992
Lea Thompson
Celebrity Family Feud
TV • 2015
Self
The Goldbergs
TV • 2013
Fran
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
Stars in the House
TV • 2020
Self
25 Words or Less
TV • 2018
Self
The Spencer Sisters
TV • 2023
Victoria Spencer
The Chicken Sisters
TV • 2024
Nancy Hillier
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Caroline Duffy (voice)
Family Guy
TV • 1999
Lorraine McFly (voice)
Reunited Apart
TV • 2020
Self
A to Z
TV • 2014
Lea Thompson
For the People
TV • 2002
Chief Deputy District Attorney Camille Paris