Laura Bell Bundy Biography

Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, her best known being the original Amber Von Tusle in Hairspray, the original Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde and Dr. Jordan Denby on television's Anger Management. She signed to Mercury Records Nashville and released her first country music single, "Giddy On Up," on February 20, 2010. The album's second single, "Drop on By," was released to country radio on August 9, 2010.

Early life

Bell Bundy was born in Euclid, Ohio, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Her mother, Lorna Bundy-Jones, manages a Victoria's Secret store and her father, Don Bundy, is an electrical engineer. Her parents divorced in 1997 when she was 16 years old; both have since remarried. She grew up dancing at Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, Kentucky. She made her stage debut in regional theatre when she was nine years old. She graduated from Lexington Catholic High School in 1999. She is the niece of Marcia Malone Bell, Miss Kentucky 1978 and 1979 Top Ten Miss America semifinalist. Bell Bundy was diagnosed with celiac disease when she was about 18 years old. In 1995 at the age of 14, Bell Bundy appeared in the film Jumanji, playing the role of Bonnie Hunt's character in 1969, Sarah Whittle.

Career

Bell Bundy originated the role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless! The Musical. For this part, she was nominated for a 1993 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In 2002, at the age of 21, she made her Broadway debut in the musical Hairspray, originating the role of Amber Von Tussle. Bell Bundy was next a standby for both Kristin Chenoweth and Jennifer Laura Thompson in the role of Glinda in Wicked. She ended her run as the standby in August 2004. From 2007-2008, she starred on Broadway in Legally Blonde: The Musical where she originated the lead role of Reese Witherspoon's character Elle Woods, receiving her first Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. After leaving the show in July 2008, she was succeeded by Bailey Hanks, the winner of Legally Blonde: The Musical "? The Search for Elle Woods. Credits outside of New York City include the national tour of The Sound of Music, Gypsy with Betty Buckley and Deborah Gibson at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey and the Los Angeles production of Rock of Ages, in which she starred as Sherrie. Offstage, Bell Bundy has appeared in films including The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Life with Mikey (1993) and Jumanji (1995) as Young Sarah Whittle. She appeared in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls as a member of the fictitious pop group "Dave and the Sweethearts." Bell Bundy was also seen on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light as Marah Lewis for two years (October 14, 1999 - October 29, 2001), as well as in television shows such as Veronica Mars, Happy Hour, Modern Men, Cold Case and Strangers with Candy. She also appears in several short web videos as various comedic characters, such as Justice Goode and Shocantelle Brown. Bell Bundy released her debut country music album titled Longing For a Place Already Gone. After leaving Legally Blonde: The Musical on July 20, 2008, she moved back to Nashville to work on her second album, Achin' and Shakin. On September 27, 2008, she headlined Anaheim, California's the Chance Theater with fellow Wicked alum Eden Espinosa and with "Spring Awakening" alum Lea Michele for the Broadway Chance Style Up Close and Personal concert. She guest-starred in the TV series Cold Case with Adam Pascal and Tracie Thoms in the episode "Willkommen." Bell Bundy was a judge at the Miss America 2009 pageant. Bell Bundy reprised the role of Elle Woods in the U.S. national tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical as a temporary replacement for the injured Becky Gulsvig. She began her brief run on January 13, 2009 and ended on February 22, 2009. She was to play Elle again during the Nashville engagement of the national tour from June 23-28, 2009. However, she fractured her arm during the June 27, 2009 performance, finished the show and was rushed to the hospital immediately after. Bell Bundy had a recurring role on the sixth season of CBS' How I Met Your Mother as Becky, Robin's co-anchor. Bell Bundy had a recurring role as Shelby on the The CW's Hart of Dixie. Bell Bundy is a spokesperson for Supercuts and appears in their Winter 2012 advertisement campaign. She starred as Dr. Jordan Denby on the FX sitcom Anger Management. In 2015, she starred in Becoming Santa (Lifetime) TV movie with Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter.

Country music

Her first single, "Giddy On Up," debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 60 for the chart week of February 20, 2010 and peaked at number 31 in May. The single was made into a music video, which was directed by Shane Drake. She also performed the song on the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards, where it was done in the style of the music video. The next single, "Drop On By," was less successful than her debut, only peaking at number 48. Her single "Giddy On Up" is also featured on popular dancing video game Just Dance 3. Her second album, Achin' and Shakin, was released on April 13, 2010. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart as well as number 28 on the all-genre Billboard 200. As of June 26, 2010, the album has sold over 70,000 copies in the United States. It also charted internationally, where it reached number 34 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. Bell Bundy also appeared in fellow country artist Miranda Lambert's music video for "Only Prettier," as one of Lambert's friends alongside Kellie Pickler and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum. Bell Bundy began as the spokesperson for the Selected Chevrolet Dealers of Middle Tennessee in September 2011. Bell Bundy released a new single, "That's What Angels Do," as the lead-off to her second studio album, Another Piece of Me, in 2012. A music video for the single was filmed and released on CMT.com, however not long after the video was taken down and the single failed to chart. In mid-2013, Bell Bundy signed with Big Machine Records and released the single "Two Step", a duet with Colt Ford. It peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. After many delays, Another Piece of Me was issued on June 9, 2015 as a digital-only release via Big Machine. No further singles were released from the album and Bell Bundy parted ways with Big Machine shortly after its release.

Personal life

In December 2015, Bell Bundy announced her engagement to TBS executive Thom Hinkle after four years of dating. They were married on June 3, 2017 in Arcadia, California.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	NOR
Longing for a Place Already Gone	Release date: July 24, 2007 Label: The LAB Records Formats: CD, music download	"?	"?	"?
I'll Be Home for Christmas	Release date: 2007 Label: The LAB Records Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
Achin' and Shakin'	Release date: April 13, 2010 Label: Mercury Nashville Formats: CD, music download	5	28	34
Live at Jazzfest 2013	Release date: October 7, 2013 Label: Homegrown Music Network/MRI Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
Another Piece of Me	Release date: June 9, 2015 Label: Big Machine Records Formats: Music download	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions				Album
		US Country	US Country Airplay	US Bubbling	US Dance
2010	"Giddy On Up"	31	"?	7	43	Achin' and Shakin'
	"Drop On By"	48	"?	"?	"?
2012	"That's What Angels Do"	"?	"?	"?	"?	Another Piece of Me
2013	"Two Step"	"?	59	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2010	"Giddy On Up"	Shane Drake
	"Drop On By"	Kristin Barlowe
2012	"That's What Angels Do"	Laura Bell Bundy/Becky Fluke
2013	"Two Step" (with Colt Ford)
	"Kentucky Dirty"
2015	"I Am What I Am"	Becky Fluke

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	The Adventures of Huck Finn	Susan Wilks	as Laura Bundy
1993	Life with Mikey	Courtney Aspinall	as Laura Bundy
1995	Jumanji	Young Sarah Whittle
1998	Strangers with Candy: Retardation, A Celebration	Kimberly Timothy	as Laura Bundy
2003	All Grown Up	Brenda	Television movie
2006	Dirtbags	Meg	Television movie
2006	Surf School	Doris
2006	Dreamgirls	Sweetheart
2008	The Drum Beats Twice	Peggy	as Laura Bundy
2011	Hound Dogs	Ginger Ledoux	Television movie
2011	To the Mat	Janice	Television movie
2013	Watercolor Postcards	Sonny
2013	Dear Dumb Diary	Aunt Carol	Television movie
2015	Becoming Santa	Holly Claus	Television movie
2017	Pure Country: Pure Heart

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Home Improvement	Sharon	Episode: "Mrs. Wilson's Opus"
2000-01	Guiding Light	Marah Lewis	10 episodes
2005	Veronica Mars	Julie Bloch	Episode: "Green-Eyed Monster"
2006	Cold Case	Nora McCarthy	Episode: "Willkommen"
2006	Modern Men	Tyffani	Episode: "The Homewrecker"
2008	Happy Hour	Alicia	Episode: "Thanksgiving"
2010-14	How I Met Your Mother	Becky	5 episodes
2010	Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List	Herself	Episode: "Maggie, the Musical"
2011	Trailer Trash	Peggy Sue	Unsold TV pilot
2012-15	Hart of Dixie	Shelby	24 episodes
2013	Malibu Country	Shauna	Episode: "Adventures in Babysitting"
2013-14	Anger Management	Dr. Jordan Denby	51 episodes
2016	Almost Royal	Herself	Episode: "The Great Outdoors"
2016	Angie Tribeca	Vivian Tribeca	Episode: "Murder in the First Class"
2016	Scream Queens	Nurse Thomas	3 episodes
2016	Fuller House	Ginger Gladstone	Episode: "Fuller Thanksgiving"

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Organization	Category	Result
2007	Legally Blonde: The Musical	Tony Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role in a Musical
		Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Musical
2010	Giddy On Up	CMT Music Awards	Breakthrough Video of the Year
		American Country Awards	Video by New/Breakthrough Artist