Laura Mackenzie Phillips (born November 10, 1959) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of seminal folk-rock musician John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas and his first wife Susan Adams. Her best-known roles include Carol Morrison in the film American Graffiti, Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time, Molly Phillips on Disney Channel's supernatural series So Weird and Barbara "Barb" Denning in Orange Is the New Black.
Early life
Phillips attended Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge, California. At age 12, Phillips formed a band with three of her classmates and she was spotted by Fred Roos, a casting agent, during one of their performances. She was given an audition for a role in George Lucas's 1973 film American Graffiti, which she won.
Career
thumb|upright|Phillips in 1975
upright|thumb|Phillips in 1975, alongside her One Day at a Time co-stars [[Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli]]
Phillips was 12 years old during the filming of American Graffiti and 13 when the movie was released. She was cast as Carol Morrison, a young girl accidentally picked up by hot rodding teenager John Milner (Paul Le Mat). Because of California state law, producer Gary Kurtz became Phillips' legal guardian for the duration of the filming.
Phillips gained stardom in the 1970s playing teenager Julie Cooper (when the character got married, her married name was Horvath) on the long-running television show One Day at a Time, for which she earned $50,000 a week.
Phillips won an Honorary Best Actress award on March 20, 2011 at the closing night awards gala of the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto for her performance as Sharon in the 2010 independent film Peach Plum Pear. While in Toronto, she was interviewed on Canada AM, ET Canada, and The Marilyn Denis Show.
In 2016, Phillips began working at the Breathe Life Healing Center in West Hollywood, California as a drug rehab counselor. In 2017, Phillips appeared in an episode of the rebooted One Day at a Time as Pam Valentine, a counselor. She reprised the role in 2019 in two episodes of the third season. In 2018, Phillips appeared as Barbara Denning in episodes of the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.
Personal life
Phillips has been married three times: first to rock group manager Jeffrey Sessler, son of Freddie Sessler (from 1979 to 1981); then to rock guitarist Shane Fontayne (from 1986 to 2000); and then to Keith Levenson in 2005 (they subsequently divorced). She has one child, son Shane Barakan (b. 1987), a musician. In an interview in March 2022, she stated that she has dated both men and women.
Substance abuse and arrest
Phillips has struggled with drug abuse for much of her life. On August 27, 2008, she was arrested by the Los Angeles Airport Police on charges of possession of cocaine and heroin, discovered after she went through airport security screening. On October 31, 2008, she pleaded guilty to one felony count of cocaine possession and was sentenced to a drug rehabilitation program. Phillips's drug case was dismissed after she successfully completed a drug diversion program.
She appeared on the third season of Celebrity Rehab, which aired in January and February 2010. She later discussed her recovery on the March 17, 2010 episode of The View.
History of abuse by biological father
In September 2009, Phillips's memoir High on Arrival was released, after which she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show for an hour-long interview. She told Oprah Winfrey that she first tried cocaine when she was 11 years old and that her father had given her drugs and injected her with cocaine. During the interview, Phillips read excerpts from her book. She said that at the age of 19, on the night before her first wedding in 1979, "I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father", and that when she confronted her father months later, asking why he had raped her, her father simply replied: "Raped you? Don't you mean we made love?" Phillips told Winfrey of having a "consensual" sexual relationship with her father, describing her participation as "sort of Stockholm syndrome, where you begin to love your captor". However, she has also described the initial incident as a rape and has said: "No matter what kind of incest, it is an abuse of power ... a betrayal of trust."
Geneviève Waïte, John Phillips's third wife, denied the allegations, saying they were inconsistent with his character. Michelle Phillips, John's second wife, also stated that she had "every reason to believe [Mackenzie's account is] untrue". However, Chynna Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips's half-sister and Michelle Phillips's daughter, stated that she believed Phillips's claims and that Phillips first told her about the relationship during a phone conversation in 1997, approximately 11 years after the supposed relationship had ended. Jessica Woods, daughter of the Mamas and the Papas member Denny Doherty, said that her father had told her that he knew "the awful truth" and that he was "horrified at what John had done".
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1973 || American Graffiti || Carol Morrison ||
|-
|1975 || Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins || Rita "Frisbee" Sykes ||
|-
|1979 || More American Graffiti || Carol "Rainbow" Morrison ||
|-
|1982 || Love Child || J.J. ||
|-
|1998 || True Friends || Connie ||
|-
|1999 || When || Catherine Brown ||
|-
|2002 || Double Teamed || Mary Burge ||
|-
|2005 || ' ||Nurse Harding ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011 || Hercules Saves Christmas || Helen Dunn || Alternate title: Santa's Dog
|-
| Peach Plum Pear || Sharon ||
|-
| rowspan="3" |2014 || Suburban Gothic || Mrs. Richards ||
|-
| Blackout || Sarah || Short film
|-
| North Blvd || Linda ||
|-
|2015 || Girl on the Edge || Deborah Green ||
|-
|2016 || Sacred Journeys || Tiff || Short film
|-
|2018 || North Blvd || Linda ||
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1973
|Go Ask Alice
|Doris
| Television film
|-
|1974
|Movin' On
|Chessie
|Episode: "Roadblock"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1975
|Miles to Go Before I Sleep
|Robin Williams <!-- not to be confused with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Williams -- this was just a coincidence; at this time, Robin Williams the actor was still a student at theater school.-->
| Television film
|-
|Baretta
|Mindy
|Episode: "On the Road"
|-
|'
|Francie
|Episode: "Mary's Delinquent"
|-
|1975–1983
|One Day at a Time
|Julie Mora Cooper Horvath
|Main cast; 123 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1976
|The Jacksons
|Herself
| Episode: "Mackenzie Phillips"
|-
|Eleanor and Franklin
|Young Eleanor Roosevelt
| Television film
|-
||1976–1979
|Child World
|Herself
|TV commercials
|-
|1978
|'
|Allison Scott
|Episode: "The Big Deal"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1979
|Fast Friends
|Susan
| Television film
|-
|'
|Lisa Swan
|Episode: "Metamorphosis"
|-
|1980
|'
|Lillian Gish
| Television film
|-
|1982
|'
|Rachel Johnson
|Episode: "Gopher's Roommate"
|-
|1985
|Murder, She Wrote
|Carol Needom
|Episode: "Murder in the Afternoon"
|-
|1986
|Kate's Secret
|Deyna
| Television film
|-
|1994
|Beverly Hills, 90210
|Counselor Ellen Marks
|Episode: "Intervention"
|-
|1995
|Melrose Place
|Maureen Dodd
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1996
|Guiding Light
|Rachel Sullivan
|4 episodes
|-
|NYPD Blue
|Mary Donaldson
|Episode: "Sorry, Wong Suspect"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997
|Caroline in the City
|Donna Spadaro
|Episode: "Caroline and the Singer"
|-
|Walker, Texas Ranger
|Ellen Simms
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Chicago Hope
|Valerie Boyd
|Episode: "Risky Business"
|-
|Viper
|Heidi Rosen
|Episode: "The Full Frankie"
|-
|1999–2001
|So Weird
|Molly Phillips
|Main cast; 63 episodes
|-
|2000
|'
|Boo Weston
|Episode: "Down to Earth"
|-
| rowspan="2" |2001
|Kate Brasher
|Tracy Del Rey
|Episode: "Tracy"
|-
|Crossing Jordan
|Elaine Stahler
|Episode "The Dawn of a New Day"
|-
| rowspan="2" |2002
|Double Teamed
|Mary Burge
| Television film
|-
|ER
|Leslie Miller
|Episode "Damage Is Done"
|-
|2003
|'
|Carol Johnson
|Episode: "Thus with a Kiss I Die"
|-
| rowspan="3" |2004
|Without a Trace
|Theresa Caldwell
|Episode: "Lost and Found"
|-
|NYPD Blue
|Lorraine Stuval
|Episode: "Fish Out of Water"
|-
|7th Heaven
|Allison Davies
|Episode: "Why Not Me?"
|-
|2007
|Cold Case
|Sheila Swett
|Episode: "That Woman"
|-
|2009
|Radio Needles
|Tonya Taylor
| Television film
|-
| rowspan="3" |2012
|Interns: The Web Series
|CEO
|Episode: "Accepted"
|-
|Criminal Minds
|Ellen Russell
|Episode: "The Pact"
|-
|She Made Them Do It
|Jamie Long
| Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" |2014
|Phineas and Ferb
|Female Judge / Jump Instructor (voice)
|Episode: "Act Your Age"
|-
| The Daily Helpline
| Herself Co-Hostes
| Episode: "Mackenzie Phillips"
|-
|2015
|Hot in Cleveland
|Kaylin
|Episode: "About a Joy"
|-
|2016–2018
|Milo Murphy's Law
|Principal Elizabeth Milder (voice)
| 7 episodes
|-
| 2017
| Battle of the Network Stars
| Herself
| Episode: "TV Moms & Dads vs. TV Kids"
|-
|2017–2020
|One Day at a Time
|Pam Valentine
| 9 episodes
|-
|2018
|Orange Is the New Black
|Barbara "Barb" Denning
| 6 episodes
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Stage
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994–1998
| Grease
| Betty Rizzo
| Broadway touring revival
|-
| 1999
| The Vagina Monologues
| Performer
| Westside Theatre
|-
| 2001–2002
| A Delicate Balance
| Julia
| Ford Theatre
|-
| 2002
| Same Time, Next Year
|Doris
| Shubert Theater
|-
| 2004–2005
| How I Learned to Drive
|L'il Bit
| Alex Theatre
|-
| 2005–2007
| Annie
| Lily St. Regis
| Touring revival
|}
Bibliography
- High on Arrival (2009)
- Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery and Surviving Addiction (2017)
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Nominated work !! Result
|-
| 2001
| Young Artist Awards
| Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Drama or Comedy) <small>(shared with cast)</small>
| So Weird
|
|-
| 2005
| TV Land Awards
| Favorite Singing Siblings <small>(Shared with: Valerie Bertinelli) </small>
| One Day at a Time
|
|-
| 2012
| LA Femme International Film Festival
| colspan="2" | Meritorious Achievement Award
|
|-
| 2017
| Behind the Voice Actors Awards
| Best Vocal Ensemble in a New Television Series <small>(Shared with cast)</small>
| Milo Murphy's Law
|
|}