Lindsay Noelle Windal LaVanchy, a talented actress, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she spent her childhood summers camping, canoeing, and horseback riding in the Ozarks of Lebanon, MO. She also honed her performing skills at St. Louis' regional theater, The Muny Opera, the largest outdoor amphitheater in North America.
LaVanchy pursued her undergraduate degree in theater at UCLA, while also taking time to study theater in Europe with renowned teachers in Berlin, Germany, and Stromboli, Italy.
She began her career in the film industry by starring in the social media/horror/short film "Dembanger", which screened at the IFS film festival in Los Angeles and won the Best Horror Short award. LaVanchy then joined the writing team for the feature film adaptation of "Dembanger", titled "Initiation", and starred as the lead, co-wrote, and co-produced the film. "Initiation" was accepted into the SXSW 2020 Film Festival in the Midnighters Narrative Feature competition category, and was later renamed "Initiation" with CAA and XYZ films handling the sales.
LaVanchy continued to work with the same director, filming three additional projects: "The Labyrinth", a commercial/short film for Giorgio Armani, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival; "The Mannequin", a tongue-in-cheek horror film due out in 2025; and "The Tyler Zone", a comedy pilot starring opposite Danny Pudi, directed by Keith Schofield, and produced by The Lonely Island team headed by Andy Samberg. She also shot a music video for the hit UK band "Bastille" with the same director.
In addition to her film work, LaVanchy has performed in multiple TV shows, Super Bowl, and national commercials. She has also had a successful stage career, starring in the West Coast premiere of Tennessee William's "Baby Doll" in 2016, which received a sold-out 3.5-month run and critical acclaim from LA TIMES theater critic Charles McNulty.
LaVanchy's more recent work includes the female friendship break-up film "Trying", which premiered at multiple festivals and won the Audience Award for a Short film in 2021/2022. She served as the co-writer, co-producer, co-director, and one of the two female leads. The film is now in script development for the feature, and she is also developing another feature film, a romance based on a play by Jane Chambers, set during the summer of 1974.
