Biography
Linda Carola is an actor and musician from a family of professional musicians. She is often cast in roles that showcase her singing or instrumental skills, such as the Singing Woman in the Apple+ film WOLFS (produced by and starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt) and "Mama" in the St. Vincent rockumentary The Nowhere Inn, where she plays harmonica and sings. Recently, she appeared as The Judge in the final season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Growing up in a musical household—with her mother a singer, and her father and brother both guitarists and harmonica players—Linda was surrounded by regular jam sessions that included jazz legend Pat Martino. Her brother later became a guitarist on Broadway in NYC and a recording artist. Inspired by her first Broadway show, Sweeney Todd, gifted by her brother, she enrolled in the theater program at Pittsburgh Playhouse, setting her on the path to becoming a performing artist.
While still in drama school, Linda landed roles in working-class period films such as Mrs. Soffel, playing a factory worker alongside Diane Keaton, and Ron Howard’s Gung Ho, portraying a tough cashier opposite Michael Keaton, which earned her a Screen Actors Guild card. She later appeared as an edgy diner waitress in Kingpin, acting alongside Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson.
During her time in New York, she worked in theater and film, including a role in the PBS American Playhouse production Darrow opposite Kevin Spacey, and a principal part as a troublesome employee opposite Ming-Na Wen in a corporate training film.
Linda earned her theater degree from Point Park College’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, studying acting, voice, and directing. She also hosted and participated in an improv workshop with the late Martin de Maat, co-founder of Chicago’s Second City training center.
Her mother sang pop and jazz standards inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, and Linda continues this tradition by singing jazz and blues and playing harmonica, guitar, piano, ukulele, percussion, and tambourine. She maintains a cherished collection of female jazz vocalists, preserving the legacy of torch songs and swing music.
Linda is a member of SAG-AFTRA, The Blues Foundation, the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the ACLU.
