Lauri Peters

Who is Lauri Peters?

Lauri Peters is an American actress, dancer, singer, drama teacher and author.

Peters created the role of Liesl Von Trapp in the original 1959 Broadway production of The Sound of Music. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Musical, which she shared with her sibling castmates. She was married to actor Jon Voight, whom she met when he joined the cast as Nazi messenger boy Rolfe, with whom Liesl has a song and a mutual attraction. She can be heard on the show's cast album, which has sold more than three million copies in the U.S.

Her film roles found her romantically involved with teen idol singers Fabian and Cliff Richard, and acting alongside James Stewart and Sidney Poitier.

She also appeared as Moll in the Howard Da Silva directed revival of Marc Blitztein's The Cradle Will Rock. She appeared on popular television shows of the 1960s and '70s, including Gunsmoke, but worked primarily in the theater, on Broadway and off, and in touring companies.

With noted acting teacher Sanford Meisner, Peters founded the Meisner Extension at NYU in 1993, where she was Artistic Director and Master Teacher.