Laurel is an award-winning producer and actress best known as Willem Dafoe’s wife in the screen adaptation of Dean Koontz’s best selling novel, “Odd Thomas,” and loved by young girls worldwide for the American Girl film, “Saige Paints the Sky,” opposite Jane Seymour. Her extensive TV Credits include ABC, NBC, CW and Disney, and feature films with STARZ, Paramount and Fusion. As a producer, Laurel has garnered an EMMY from the Heartland Chapter as well as multiple NATOA and TELLY Awards. She’s worked with many notable figures, including Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, while traveling the world to film their stories and work alongside teams from the BBC and PBS. During these adventures, Laurel developed a passion for creating media that highlights underserved populations under her Laurel Leaf Productions banner.

Laurel is a contributing writer for ThriveGlobal and Backstage magazines, as well as a respected voiceover artist, voicing countless television and radio commercials, along with numerous feature-length documentaries. Laurel’s narrations in the Nobel Legacy Film Series premiered for two consecutive years at the Venice International Film Festival. The documentaries SHIRIN EBADI: UNTIL WE ARE FREE and THE DALAI LAMA – SCIENTIST— which received a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd— have received international critical acclaim.