# Lisa Marie (actress)
**Lisa Marie (actress)** is the screen name of **Lisa Marie Smith** (born 1968), an American model and actress best known for playing Vampira in [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton)'s *Ed Wood* (1994), the Martian Girl in *Mars Attacks!* (1996), Lady Crane in *[Sleepy Hollow](https://www.edgepedia.org/sleepy-hollow-film)* (1999), and Nova in *Planet of the Apes* (2001).[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) She was Burton's romantic partner from 1992 to 2001 and appeared in his films during that period.[3](https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Marie)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth | 1968, Piscataway, New Jersey (some sources cite 1971)[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) |
| Modeling career | Posed for Robert Mapplethorpe and Bruce Weber; appeared as the "Obsession Girl" in Calvin Klein print advertising[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) |
| Screen debut | Featured as herself in Bruce Weber's jazz documentary *Let's Get Lost* (1988), about Chet Baker[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) |
| Signature roles | Vampira in *Ed Wood* (1994); Martian Girl in *Mars Attacks!* (1996); Lady Crane in *Sleepy Hollow* (1999); Nova in *Planet of the Apes* (2001)[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) |
| Burton partnership | Dated Tim Burton from 1992 to 2001 and acted in his films *Ed Wood*, *Mars Attacks!*, *Sleepy Hollow*, and *Planet of the Apes*[3](https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Marie) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/26/news1) |
| Television | Played Cinder in two *Miami Vice* episodes (1988); hosted the short-film anthology *Exposure* on the Sci-Fi Channel (2001-2002)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) |
| Nominations | 1994 ACCA-Best Cast Ensemble; 2015 Fright Meter Award-Best Supporting Actress[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) |
## Early life and modeling
Lisa Marie grew up in New Jersey and studied dance with the New Jersey Ballet for eight years, also training in classical piano.[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) She took dance classes in New York City during her teenage years,[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) and at age 15 she left an unhappy home in the New Jersey suburbs for New York.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/aug/18/features)
Her modeling career began immediately.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/aug/18/features) She posed for the photographers [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-mapplethorpe) and Bruce Weber, and appeared for Weber in [Calvin Klein](https://www.edgepedia.org/calvin-klein)'s Obsession perfume campaign; Encyclopedia.com's career record lists her as the "Obsession Girl" in Calvin Klein print advertising.[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) • [1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) Weber's 1988 black-and-white documentary *Let's Get Lost*, about the jazz trumpeter and singer [Chet Baker](https://www.edgepedia.org/chet-baker), gave her first screen exposure, and she took a small role as a party guest in Woody Allen's *Alice* (1990).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/)
## Work with Tim Burton
Her first film with Burton was the biopic *Ed Wood* (1994), her film debut, in which she played Vampira, the 1950s television horror hostess (born [Maila Nurmi](https://www.edgepedia.org/maila-nurmi)).[7](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/1994/11/1/tim-burtons-hollywood-nightmare) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) According to *Vanity Fair*, she met Burton at a party for Madonna in the fall of 1992.[7](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/1994/11/1/tim-burtons-hollywood-nightmare) Reviewers noted her close recreation of Vampira's look, with the trademark black fishtail gown, long wig, and upturned eyebrows.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ed-wood-1994) The film earned her a 1994 ACCA nomination for Best Cast Ensemble.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/)
In Burton's *Mars Attacks!* (1996) she played the Martian Girl, a silent Martian spy disguised as a [Marilyn Monroe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-monroe)-style blonde who infiltrates the White House through the President's press secretary ([Martin Short](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-short)).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/12/13/mars-attacks-we-lose/f800751d-ab4d-4263-91b2-86c90ff60f08/) The sequence drew critical attention: *The Washington Post* called her part of the film's best scene,[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/12/13/mars-attacks-we-lose/f800751d-ab4d-4263-91b2-86c90ff60f08/) and *The New Yorker* described her performance as the movie's only striking one, writing that she looks and moves like a Barbie doll and creates "a hilarious, and truly unsettling, image of female desirability."[10](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/12/16/lost-in-the-stars-2)
She followed with Lady Crane, the murdered mother of [Ichabod Crane](https://www.edgepedia.org/ichabod-crane), in Burton's *Sleepy Hollow* (1999), appearing in the film's wordless childhood-flashback scenes, which one scholarly account calls possibly the film's single most gruesome image.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/) • [11](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/54/71/2020715471/2020715471.pdf) Her last film with Burton was *Planet of the Apes* (2001), in which she played the mute chimp Nova after completing primate movement training and lengthy ape makeup.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/aug/18/features) • [3](https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Marie) During this period she also hosted *Exposure*, a short-film anthology show on the Sci-Fi Channel.[3](https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Marie) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968)
## After the Burton films
The Burton partnership ended in 2001. In October of that year *The Guardian* reported that Burton had split from his long-term girlfriend Lisa Marie Smith in favor of *Planet of the Apes* star [Helena Bonham Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/helena-bonham-carter).[5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/26/news1)
She continued working, largely in genre film and television. Her credits include the HBO television movie *Breast Men* (1997), *Frogs for Snakes* (1998), *Tail Lights Fade* (1999), and *If... Dog... Rabbit* (1999), followed by the horror titles *Silent Night* (2012), *The Lords of Salem* (2012), and *We Are Still Here* (2015).[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) • [12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/lisa-marie/) She received a 2015 Fright Meter Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/) Her work on review aggregators reflects both sides of her career: *Let's Get Lost* holds her highest Metascore at 85, and *We Are Still Here* her highest Rotten Tomatoes critics score at 96 percent, while *Planet of the Apes* sits at the low end with a Metascore of 50.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/lisa-marie/) • [13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_marie)
## Name and identification
The stage name "Lisa Marie" is shared by several other public figures, most prominently [Lisa Marie Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-marie-presley) (1968-2023), the singer-songwriter and daughter of [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley).[14](https://apnews.com/article/9fc02552f6f31e270647897a2e4104e9) Reference databases handle the actress under her legal name, Lisa Marie Smith, born 1968, to distinguish her from namesakes.[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968) IMDb also lists several unrelated performers credited as Lisa Marie, so filmographies for the actress center on the Burton features of 1994 to 2001.[15](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0547273/)
## References
1. [Lisa Marie Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lisa-marie/bio/3030099369/)
2. [Lisa Marie - Model, Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisa-marie/)
3. [Lisa Marie, Planet of the Apes Wiki](https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Marie)
4. [Marie, Lisa 1968(?)-, Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marie-lisa-1968)
5. [Apes brings romance to Burton and Bonham Carter, The Guardian (October 26, 2001)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/26/news1)
6. [Prime mate, The Guardian (August 17, 2001)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/aug/18/features)
7. [Tim Burton's Hollywood Nightmare, Vanity Fair (November 1994)](https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/article/1994/11/1/tim-burtons-hollywood-nightmare)
8. [Ed Wood movie review, RogerEbert.com (October 7, 1994)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ed-wood-1994)
9. ['Mars Attacks!': We Lose, The Washington Post (December 12, 1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/12/13/mars-attacks-we-lose/f800751d-ab4d-4263-91b2-86c90ff60f08/)
10. [Lost in the Stars, The New Yorker (December 9, 1996)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/12/16/lost-in-the-stars-2)
11. [Fairy Tale Films (scholarly collection including a chapter on Sleepy Hollow), Library of Congress archived copy](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/54/71/2020715471/2020715471.pdf)
12. [Lisa Marie, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/lisa-marie/)
13. [Lisa Marie Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_marie)
14. [Lisa Marie Presley, singer and daughter of Elvis, dies at 54, Associated Press (January 13, 2023)](https://apnews.com/article/9fc02552f6f31e270647897a2e4104e9)
15. [Lisa Marie (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0547273/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actors and actresses by country or nationality › American actors and actresses › Surnames G to O*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license