Biography
Sandra Ellis Lafferty is widely recognized for her roles in Walk the Line (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), Prisoners (2013), Self/Less (2015), and A Walk in the Woods (2015). Over the last thirty years, she has earned national and international praise for portraying significant characters in both film and television. Sandra began her acting career on stage and was honored as best actress for a season by the Denver drama critics while part of The Denver Center Theatre Company. She also received the best actress award from Westword magazine. With extensive theater experience, Sandra launched her film career at age 50. After a minor role in Dogfight, filmed in Seattle, she relocated to Los Angeles. In the following years, she secured steady work with guest appearances on TV shows such as NYPD Blue, Melrose Place, Baywatch, and Boy Meets World. Simultaneously, she began landing film roles. In the early 2000s, Sandra moved back to Alabama to care for her mother. As the film industry expanded beyond Hollywood to the East Coast, this move boosted her career, leading to key roles in major films like Walk the Line and The Hunger Games. She continued with A Walk in the Woods, starring Robert Redford; Self/less, with Ryan Reynolds; and Prisoners, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal. While working alongside A-list actors and acclaimed directors has increased her exposure to wider audiences, she also enjoys participating in independent films such as Buster's Mal Heart (Rami Malek), Steel County (Andrew Scott), and Starbright (John Rhys-Davies), as well as projects like her regular role on the television series Containment, which fuel her passion for acting. Sandra also volunteers at the Mentone Arts & Cultural Center, serving as artistic director and mentoring high school theater students.
