Laura Harrier

About Laura Harrier

Laura Ruth Harrier is an American actress and model born on March 28, 1990, in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in the suburb of Evanston, she grew up in a supportive environment as the daughter of an insurance worker and a speech pathologist. She attended Evanston Township High School, where her tall stature and distinct features caught the attention of a location scout, leading her to begin a successful international modeling career at age seventeen. After moving to New York City to work with premier agencies and front major corporate fashion campaigns, she realized her true calling lay in storytelling. She chose to transition away from modeling to study professional acting under the rigorous, traditional curriculum at the William Esper Studio. 

Her film and television biography reflects a rapid ascent into high-profile Hollywood projects. She made her television debut as Destiny Evans in the rebooted soap opera "One Life to Live" in 2013, followed by a minor film appearance in the musical "The Last Five Years" in 2014 and the comedy "4th Man Out" in 2015. Harrier achieved massive global recognition and her commercial breakthrough when she was cast as Liz Allan, the high school crush of Peter Parker, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster "Spider-Man: Homecoming" in 2017. She quickly solidified her dramatic credentials by starring as the fierce civil rights activist Patrice Dumas in Spike Lee's critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning biographical drama "BlacKkKlansman" in 2018. On television, she earned praise for starring as Camille Washington, an ambitious young Black actress fighting systemic prejudice in 1940s Tinseltown, in the Ryan Murphy Netflix miniseries "Hollywood" in 2020. Her subsequent works include portraying Robin Givens in the Hulu biographical series "Mike" in 2022, voicing Carmen in the animated musical special "Entergalactic" in 2022, and starring as Tatiana in the sports-comedy remake "White Men Can't Jump" in 2023. She expanded her premium profile by recurring as Vivian Montgomery in the drama series "Doctor Odyssey" from 2024 to 2025, and she achieved further cinematic acclaim by portraying iconic Motown executive Suzanne de Passe in the biographical feature film "Michael" in 2026. 

Personal information regarding her family and relationships highlights her close ties to her parents, Temujin Harrier and Linda Sagan, and her younger brother, William. In her romantic life, Harrier was in a highly publicized relationship with professional basketball player Klay Thompson from 2018 to 2020. She subsequently began dating French freelance creative consultant Sam Jarou in 2021, and though the couple announced a quiet engagement in Paris, they amicably separated in early 2025. She has since been romantically linked to art dealer Helly Nahmad, and she currently has no children. Outside of her career, Harrier is a vocal mental health advocate who works closely with the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective to expand therapy access for women of color. 

Throughout her transition from fashion runways to prestigious film sets, Harrier has remained exceptionally articulate about identity, representation, and the intersection of strength and femininity. A notable quote regarding her preparation for politically charged historical roles emphasizes her professional ethos: "Using your voice can create a platform for speaking out against injustices. I learned so much from bringing radical women to the screen because it reminds you how much power we each possess." Reflecting on her refusal to compromise her identity to fit outdated Hollywood standards, she famously observed: "You feel powerful and strong, and I think you can be feminine and be a revolutionary too. These things do not have to be exclusive."