# Laila Robins

Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), An Innocent Man (1989), Live Nude Girls (1995), True Crime (1999), She's Lost Control (2014), Eye in the Sky (2015), and A Call to Spy (2019). Her television credits include regular roles on Gabriel's Fire, Homeland, and Murder in the First, playing Pamela Milton in the final season of The Walking Dead (2022), and Colonel Grace Mallory in The Boys (2019–2024) and Gen V (2023).

## Early life and education

Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and attended the Yale School of Drama, earning a master of fine arts.

## Career
### Film and television

Robins made her big screen debut starring opposite Steve Martin in the 1987 comedy film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. She then starred opposite Tom Selleck in the 1989 crime thriller An Innocent Man; Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990); the sex comedy Live Nude Girls (1995) with Dana Delany and Kim Cattrall; and True Crime (1999). On the small screen, Robins co-starred with James Earl Jones in the ABC crime drama series Gabriel's Fire, from 1990 to 1991, and guest-starred on Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, Sex and the City, 30 Rock, and The Good Wife. She also played a younger version of Livia Soprano, the mother of mobster Tony Soprano, in two episodes of the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos.
In 2014, Robins starred as Martha Boyd, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, in the fourth season of Showtime drama series Homeland. The following year, she was a regular cast member in the TNT drama series Murder in the First, and in 2016–2017, she had a recurring role in Quantico. In 2018 she starred in the short-lived ABC drama series Deception. She had a recurring role as Katarina Rostova in season 7 of the NBC series The Blacklist from 2019 to 2021. She also had recurring roles in In Treatment, Bored to Death, Mr. Mercedes, Dr. Death and The Boys. In 2022, Robins joined the cast of AMC drama series The Walking Dead as Governor of the Commonwealth, Pamela Milton.

### Theatre

Robins appeared on Broadway as Lady Utterword in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins's other Broadway appearances were Frozen by Bryony Lavery (2004), The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan (1998), and The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard (1985), directed by Mike Nichols. (Robins succeeded actress Glenn Close in the role).
Robins has appeared off-Broadway in Sore Throats by Howard Brenton, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Mrs. Klein by Nicholas Wright (in which she also toured with Uta Hagen) (1995–1996), Burnt Piano by Justin Fleming, opposite Richard Thomas in Second Stage Theatre's Tiny Alice (2000). and The Film Society by Jon Robin Baitz, among others. She has also appeared in numerous regional theatre productions, such as the 1997 Fiftieth Anniversary production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Robins also appeared as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 2002. Robins is also a frequent performer at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where she has starred in Macbeth, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.
Charles Isherwood, critic for The New York Times, assessed her stage work as Ariadne in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006) opposite Swoosie Kurtz as follows: "...this expert comic actress [Kurtz] may not fit the textbook definition of siren, as Hesione is called, but she may just be the most seductive woman on a New York stage right now...unless that nod goes to Ms. Robins, who locates the essence of her character's shallow allure in a languid, liquid strut and a smile both entrancing and devouring".
Robins has won or been nominated for several awards for her work including the Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award (1995), for The Merchant of Venice, the 2012 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble for Sweet and Sad, the Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress (2004) for Frozen and Outstanding Lead Actress (2007) for Sore Throats, the 1997 Joseph Jefferson Award Best Actress for A Streetcar Named Desire at The Steppenwolf Theatre, the Helen Hayes Award nomination, 1997 Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production for Mrs. Klein, and the Drama League Award.
Robins is a guest instructor at HB Studio.

## Personal life

Robins has been in a relationship with the actor Robert Cuccioli since 2000. They co-starred in Macbeth at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, among other plays.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Planes, Trains and Automobiles | Susan Page | |
| 1987 | A Walk on the Moon | Marty Ellis | |
| 1989 | An Innocent Man | Kate Rainwood | |
| 1990 | Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael | Elizabeth Zaks | |
| 1995 | Live Nude Girls | Rachel | |
| 1996 | Female Perversions | Emma | |
| 1997 | The Blood Oranges | Catherine | |
| 1999 | True Crime | Patricia Findley | |
| 1999 | Oxygen | Frances Hannon | |
| 2000 | Drop Back Ten | Viv | |
| 2001 | The Loneliness of Animals | Annabella | Short film |
| 2002 | Searching for Paradise | Barbara Mattei | |
| 2003 | Happy End | Irene | |
| 2004 | Jailbait | Mother | |
| 2006 | Slippery Slope | Michaela Stark | |
| 2006 | Things That Hang from Trees | Miss Millie | |
| 2006 | A Broken Sole | Passenger | |
| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | Toddy Allen | |
| 2008 | August | Ottmar Peevo | |
| 2008 | The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond | Mrs. Fenstermaker | |
| 2009 | Welcome to Academia | Deborah | |
| 2010 | Multiple Sarcasms | Lauren | |
| 2012 | The Letter | Dr. Tynan | |
| 2013 | Blumenthal | Cheryl | |
| 2013 | Concussion | Woman #3 | |
| 2013 | Side Effects | Banks partner #2 | |
| 2014 | She's Lost Control | Irene | |
| 2015 | Grey Lady | The Duchess | |
| 2015 | Valeria | Shirley | Short film |
| 2015 | Eye in the Sky | Jillian Goldman | |
| 2016 | A Woman, a Part | Bernadette | |
| 2017 | Island Zero | Maggie | |
| 2017 | Impossible Monsters | Dean Gaslow | |
| 2018 | The Rest of Us | Dean Patterson | |
| 2019 | A Call to Spy | Pirani | |
| 2022 | My Love Affair with Marriage | Master of Ceremonies | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | The Equalizer | Cindy Claussen | Episode: "The Last Campaign" |
| 1989 | Dream Breakers | Phoebe | TV film |
| 1990–1991 | Gabriel's Fire | Victoria Heller | Main role |
| 1992 | Trial: The Price of Passion | Charm Blackburn | TV film |
| 1995 | The Wright Verdicts | Rachel | Episode: "Unlucky Star" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Diana Hawthorne | Episode: "Trophy" |
| 1997 | Nothing Sacred | Jeanne Cole | Episode: "House of Rage" |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Liann Crosby | Episode: "Venom" |
| 1999 | Spenser: Small Vices | Rita Fiore | TV film |
| 1999 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ellen Travis | Episode: "A Single Life" |
| 1999–2001 | The Sopranos | Young Livia Soprano | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Third Watch | Sharon Reiner | Episode: "Journey to the Himalayas" |
| 2001 | Witchblade | Dominique Boucher | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Kit Sternman | Episode: "Enemy Within" |
| 2004 | Sex and the City | Audra Clark | Episode: "The Cold War" |
| 2006 | The Book of Daniel | Nora Paxton | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Gloria Baird | Episode: "St. Valentine's Day" |
| 2009 | All My Children | Claire Williams | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | In Treatment | Tammy Meswick | Recurring role |
| 2009–2010 | Bored to Death | Priscilla Antrem | Recurring role |
| 2010 | God in America | Anne Hutchinson | Episode: "A New Adam/A New Eden" |
| 2010 | The Good Wife | Paige Burchfield | Episode: "Bad Girls" |
| 2011 | Damages | Catherine's Doctor | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Christine Lagarde | TV film |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Mrs. Lee | Episode: "Friendly Fire" |
| 2011 | Person of Interest | Anja Kohl | Episode: "Foe" |
| 2012 | Dark Horse | Miranda Teras | TV film |
| 2013 | Onion News Empire | Helena Zweibel | TV film |
| 2014 | The Money | Ruth Castman | TV film |
| 2014 | That Hopey Changey Thing | Marian Apple | TV film |
| 2014 | Sweet and Sad | Marian Apple | TV miniseries |
| 2014 | Regular Singing | Marian Apple | TV miniseries |
| 2014 | Homeland | Martha Boyd | Main role |
| 2015 | Murder in the First | Jamie Nelson | Main role (season 2) |
| 2016–2017 | Quantico | General Katherine Richards | Recurring role |
| 2018 | Deception | Special Agent Deakins | Main role |
| 2018 | New Amsterdam | Mrs. Ryland | Episode: "Every Last Minute" |
| 2019–2021 | The Blacklist | Katarina Rostova | Guest (season 6); recurring role (seasons 7–8) |
| 2019 | The Handmaid's Tale | Pamela Joy | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Bull | Colleen McCandless | Episode: "The Good One" |
| 2019–2024 | The Boys | Colonel Grace Mallory | Recurring role, 13 episodes |
| 2021 | The Equalizer | CIA Director Suri Nance | Episode: "The Milk Run" |
| 2021 | Dr. Death | Amy Piel | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2022 | The Walking Dead | Pamela Milton | Main role, 15 episodes |
| 2023 | The Crowded Room | Susie | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2023 | American Horror Stories | Lee | Season 3 Episode: 4 “Organ” |
| 2023 | Gen V | Colonel Grace Mallory | Episode: "Sick" |

## Stage

* The Real Thing (1985)...Annie (Replacement); Plymouth Theatre (Broadway)
* Summer and Smoke (1986)...Alma Winemiller; Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
* Bloody Poetry (1987)...Mary Shelley; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
* The Film Society (1988)...Nan Sinclair; Second Stage Theatre/McGinn-Cazale Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* The Lady from the Sea (1988)...Cast; Baltimore Center Stage (Baltimore, MD)
* Maids of Honor (1990)...Monica Bowlin; WPA Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* The Extra Man (1992)...Laura; Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway)
* The Women (1993)...Cast; Hartford Stage Company (Hartford, CT)
* The Merchant of Venice (1995)... Portia; Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* Mrs. Klein (1996)...Melitta; National Tour
* Mrs. Klein (1995)... Melitta; Lucille Lortel Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* Skylight (1997)...Kyra Hollis; Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA)
* A Streetcar Named Desire (1997)...Blanche du Bois; Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
* The Herbal Bed (1998)...Susanna Hall; Eugene O'Neill Theatre (Broadway)
* Fool for Love (1999)...May; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
* Tiny Alice (2000)...Cast; Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* Hedda Gabler (2000)... Hedda Gabler; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
* Burnt Piano (2001) ...Karen; HB Playwrights Theatre (Off-Broadway)
* Three Sisters (2001)...Masha; New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre (Madison, NJ)
* Antony and Cleopatra (2002)...Cleopatra; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
* Resurrection Blues (2002)...Emily; Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
* Fiction (2003)...Linda; McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ)
* King John (2003)... Constance; New Jersey Shakespeare Theater (Madison, NJ)
* Macbeth (2004)...Lady Macbeth; The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
* Frozen (2004)...Agnetha; Circle in the Square Theatre (Broadway)
* Frozen (2004)... Agnetha; MCC Theater (Off-Broadway)
* Heartbreak House (2006)...Lady Utterwood; American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)
* A Street Car Named Desire (2008) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
* Noises Off (2009) The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
* The Dance of Death (2013) The Red Bull Theater (New York, NY)
* The Lion in Winter (2016) Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)