Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Memphis Lara Parker began a major in philosophy on scholarship at Vassar College, which she completed at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), receiving her BA. She attended graduate school at the University of Iowa earning a Masters in speech and drama. During the summer when she was supposed to write her thesis, she acted at the Millbrook Playhouse, in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania where she had 5 leading roles in 6 weeks. Deciding to try her luck in New York, within two weeks she was cast as the witch, Angelique, in the daytime horror serial, Dark Shadows, a role she held for 5 years.
Lara Parker died in her sleep at her Los Angeles home at age 84.
