Laryssa Lauret (a.k.a. Lysniak) was an American actress of Ukrainian descent. She had worked on Broadway, as well as off Broadway, and in television in long running roles, such as Dr. Karen Werner in "The Doctors" and for two years in "The Guiding Light" as Simone Morey. Her most notable film role was in "Everything Is Illuminated" as Lista. Laryssa made a name for herself both on the Ukrainian and American stage, and in American television and film. She was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1932 and after World War II, after a brief stop in an Austrian displaced persons (DP) camp (most likely Landeck), her family found themselves in a DP camp near Munich, Germany from where with only baggage in hand, they made their way to New York on August 3rd, 1947. Always an outstanding academic student, Laryssa graduated from Textile High School in Manhattan, and was admitted to Hunter College where she graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree. She then pursued a graduate degree from Columbia University, graduating as a Master of Fine Arts. She pursued some painting and sculpting, creating several works in each media. She actually began her acting studies as a child in Austria studying at the Saltzburg Theater and Film Institute and continued here in New York with the Hirniak and Dobrovolska Studio, highly regarded in the Ukrainian expat community, as well as under the tutelage of Lee Strasburg's Actor's Studio and Uta Hagen's well known Herbert Berghof Studio. Under Hirniak's and Dobrowolska'a tutelage and mentoring she appeared in several Ukrainian plays directed by them (starting at age twelve in the first one). After marrying Wolodymyr Lysniak, who studied theatre at Columbia and directing at Yale, she starred as Lady Anna in "Kaminnyi Hospodar (1966), directed by Wolodymyr (a.k.a.Walter) at the Experimental Ukrainian Theater Group. At that time, she also starred in "The Exhibit", a play that she wrote, played Maria in "Fated" and also appeared in "Famine" under the mentorship and direction of her husband. It was at this stage of her life that she also penned another play, "Restitution" about an emigrant family crisis due to clashes between traditional Ukrainian versus more contemporary American values. Along with her husband, who is a well known director in his own right in the Ukrainian American community, she often performed dramatic readings at various Ukrainian events. She was often heard on the Voice of America and Svoboda radio programs, which were transmitted to Soviet Ukraine. Laryssa's acting resume is even broader, beginning with Broadway, where she appeared as Hellevi in "Paris is out," (with Molly Picon and Sam Levene), as Hilda in Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana", (with Bette Davis and Shelley Winters), as Natasha in "Julia, Jake and Uncle Joe", (with Claudette Colbert). In film, Laryssa appeared in the Film Noir"Encounter", also in "The Prude and La Parisienne with Dom de Louise, and in her finest film role, as the female lead, Lista, in the Warner Bros. film "Everything is Illuminated", with Elijah Wood, directed by Liev Schreiber (2005). She was also well known for her TV work, as for over ten (10) years she portrayed Dr. Karen Werner on the NBC-TV soap opera series "The Doctors", and for two years she portrayed Simone Morey on the CBS-TV soap opera series "The Guiding Light". Laryssa also made many appearances on "The Alcoa Hour", "The U.S. Steel Hour" and "The Catholic Hour" Off Broadway she was even more active, appearing at various theaters in "HUNGER", "THE EXHIBIT", "Don Juan", "The Chair", "Creditors", "One-Eyed Man is King", "The Doomed", "Trojan Women", "Forest Song", "The Boor", "Minna Von Barnhelm", and in "Name Day" (2005) at the Barrow Theatre. In summer stock she played in "Marriage-Go-Round", "Boeing Boeing", "Skin of Our Teeth" and "Music at Night". In regional theater she starred as the Dowager Empress, Maria Feodorovna in "Anastasia", as the Grand Duchess, Olga Katrina in "You Can't Take It With You", as Miss Liz Truesdale in "Murder Takes the Stage" (all in 2001-2004), and as Baroness Lemberg in "White Liars" (2009). In addition, Laryssa appeared in the made-for-TV-Movie, "Who Was Bernie Block" (2006), in a movie short, "Crumbs" (2007) and as Trudy in "Gods Behaving Badly" (2013) with Sharon Stone (set for release in 2015).
Laryssa had also appeared in countless commercials and most recently she portrayed Pavla (mother of Healey's wife) in the hit Netflix comedy/ drama series "Orange is the New Black" (in two episodes in 2013). Laryssa's acting credits are impressive but what she will truly be remembered for, and also missed for, is her real character in everyday LIFE. Laryssa believed that we are here on this earth to serve others. That is the way she lived her life each and every day. She put everyone before herself. She was willing to give a helping hand to whomever needed it, to fill out a form for someone, to drive someone to where they needed to go, or to reach out and call a homebound senior to let them know that they are not alone. Even in her last days, when a spiritual counselor asked her what she wished for, Laryssa answered "I want to get healthy, so that I can continue to serve others."
Laryssa will be missed by all, but let us all take comfort in her life's credo: "All IS well".
