Laila Robins

Life and career

Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents Brigita (née Švarcs) and Jānis, whose surname was originally spelled Robiņš. Her father was a research chemist. Robins has three sisters. 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. 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; he was Macbeth, and she was Lady Macbeth.

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.

Theatre

Robins appeared as Lady Utterword in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (2006). Robins' 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 and The Film Society by Jon Robin Baitz, among others.

In 1997, she starred in the 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. In 2000, she was cast opposite Richard Thomas in the stage revival of Tiny Alice. 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). Robins played opposite Swoosie Kurtz, and Isherwood described both as such: "...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".

Stage appearances