The youngest of five siblings, Laura Prepon was born March 7, 1980, in Watchung, New Jersey. She had a normal childhood and attended the local regional high school. At the age of 15, she caught the acting bug, decided to quit regular secondary school and enrolled herself in a specialized theater college.
Aside from working in plays like A Woman of Property and Ascension Day, Prepon took up ballet and modern and jazz dance. As she continued to improve her theater skills, she began taking the 45-minute drive to New York and attended every audition possible.
Having little more than an MCI commercial and the Internet series They Go On on her resume, on a whim, Prepon went to the That ’70s Show audition. Right away, the producers knew they had their “Donna.” Laura was Donna, the epitome of the girl next door – a perfect fit. Her audition tape was flown to L.A., and she got the part: A major role on a FOX sitcom at the age of 18.
Although the show was slow to draw big audience numbers, Prepon enjoyed success nonetheless. She modeled in Paris and Milan, and did a new commercial for the skincare line Clean & Clear. When That ’70s Show’s third season came in 2000, it had finally established a strong following. Prepon was able to obtain small parts in lesser-known movies such as The Best and Brightest and The Pornographer: A Love Story.
With a low-key take on her business, Prepon wants to take her rise to fame on the proper path. There will be no appearances in movies like Scream or Can’t Hardly Wait, although she did appear in the 2002 comedy Slackers and the smaller-scale film Southlander. She admits to having taken on minor roles not because they were the only ones available, but because she knew they would help her later on.
Although Prepon is spoken for (she is living with boyfriend Christopher Masterson of Malcolm in the Middle), we could always dream of meeting someone like her: an ideal woman in many men’s opinions.