Lori Singer: The Surprising Story of the Multitalented 'Footloose' Star

Lori Singer will forever be known for her role as Ariel Moore, the rebellious daughter of a small-town reverend in Footloose, but she’s had a fascinating career outside of the '80s classic. 

The actress, who started out with a two-season stint on Fame from 1982 to 1983, was born into a musical family, with a virtuoso violinist and conductor father, Jacques Singer, and a pianist mother. She quickly proved her own musical talents, and was a gifted cellist who was admitted to the prestigious Juilliard School at just 14 years old.

Here’s a look at how Lori Singer went from musical prodigy to movie star, along with an update on what she’s doing now.

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Lori Singer: From music to movies

The tall, blonde and blue-eyed actress started out as a model in the early '80s, but quickly switched to acting, and made her debut in the 1982 TV movie Born Beautiful. She was then cast as a high school dancer and cellist in the Fame TV show — a role that was written specifically to showcase her musical talent. 

In 1984, Singer starred in Footloose, opposite Kevin Bacon. Looking back at her breakout role, she said, “Ariel has no hesitation. She’s at an age where she will question, and she will challenge. And she’s also a little bit wilder than the place where she’s from. She doesn’t really follow rules well.” This quality made her a character audiences related to and rooted for, and it wasn’t long before she was an '80s it girl.

Singer’s next role was in the 1985 spy film The Falcon and the Snowman. She then appeared in the comedy The Man With One Red Shoe that same year, but it flopped at the box office. Her other films of the era were Trouble in Mind (1985), Summer Heat (1987), Made in U.S.A. (1987) and Warlock (1989), none of which made the same impact as Footloose. 

What Lori Singer has been up to since Footloose

In 1993, Singer played a cellist in the ensemble drama Short Cuts. She then starred in the short-lived sci-fi series VR.5 from 1995 to 1997. After that, she took a break from acting, returning with a cameo in the 2004 film When Will I Be Loved. Another extended break followed, and she came back with a 2011 appearance in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and roles in the independent films Experimenter (2015) and The Institute (2017).

Most recently, Singer starred in another indie film, the 2023 movie Rachel Hendrix, in which she played the title character and earned praise for her performance. Since her earliest days, Singer has always been more than just an actress, and she’s continued to perform regularly as a cellist. 

Singer has also stepped behind the camera. She executive produced the 2012 HBO documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and both executive produced and narrated the 2016 documentary God Knows Where I Am. 

Currently, Singer is working on her debut as a director and writer, Wonder Drug. The film tells the harrowing real-life story of DES, a dangerous drug that was given to pregnant women for decades, only to be later found to cause cancer and reproductive issues in both the mothers and their daughters.

Clearly, Singer’s career has taken a number of unexpected turns since Footloose, though she’s still happy to talk about the movie that made her a star. She even recently joked about the possibility of a sequel, telling People, “I don't know if Kevin even remembers this, but I actually had sort of an idea where Ariel grows up and goes to New York where she wanted to be, and Kevin stays there.”

A sequel is unlikely to happen though, as she admitted that she finds the film “very pure” and agrees with Bacon that while she doesn’t want to rule anything out, it’s probably not the best idea.

Whether or not there’s a Footloose sequel, we look forward to seeing the actress and cellist add a director credit to her long and varied resume.

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