Laura Bell Bundy is a self-proclaimed HOT MESS. Often going by the nickname ‘LBB,’ she has also been called silly, sexy, ballsy, the Mayor of Crazytown, the Ambassador of Good Times, keeper of the bourbon, Kentucky Wildcat, Heir director, mommy to the canine community, and of course, a living Jon Bonet.
Having grown up in Kentucky, almost everything she touches turns chicken fried. But her southern roots extend far beyond her recently cut hair extensions. They are woven into her most creative endeavors. Her loves of performing, writing music, and telling stories have all rocketed her from that southern comfort zone to the bright lights of Broadway and beyond.
This feisty little nugget started singing and dancing while still in pampers at local Kentucky county fairs and pageants. But it was only a matter of time before she set her sights on a bigger and more fun sandbox…New York City.
It all began with a debut at age 9 in Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular. At age 10, she originated the role of Tina Denmark in the successful off-Broadway production Ruthless, The Musical, for which she received Outer-Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk nominations. Next up was a chance to originate another role, this time as Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray. She followed this with a turn as Glinda in the smash hit Wicked and she then originated the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, a performance that earned her a Tony Award nomination, as well as Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations. It was filmed for MTV live earning 20 million viewers.
In addition to dominating Broadway stages, Laura Bell has also been spotted in front of the camera, appearing on network television shows such as Steve Carell’s Angie Tribeca, Idiot Sitter, Scream Queens, Documentary Now, Liv And Maddie, Fuller House, Royal Pains, Cold Case, Veronica Mars, Home Improvement, Malibu Country, as “Becky” on How I Met Your Mother, as “Shelby” on Hart of Dixie, as “Jessica” on the upcoming Guest Book and her leading role as “Dr. Jordan Denby” on Anger Management opposite Charlie Sheen. She also played “Marah Lewis” on Guiding Light. Laura Bell’s film work includes Dream Girls, Jumanji, Life with Mikey, The Adventures of Huck Finn, Watercolor Postcards, After The Reality, Beauty Mark, CMT’s To The Mat, Hallmark’s Dear Dumb Diary, Up’s Season’s Greetings, Lifetime’s Becoming Santa and the upcoming Pure Country 3.
You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl! With country music in her DNA, she began writing country music at the age of 14 and started her first band at 18. Laura Bell’s 2010 album on Universal Records, Achin’ and Shakin’ was heartbreakingly personal and joyfully rowdy and debuted as Top #5 albums on The Billboard country music charts. “Two records, one woman is my motto,” jokes Laura Bell, who penned all but one of the songs on the album. Her breakout hit from the Shakin’ set was “Giddy On Up” which reached #31 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Charts and landed her a show stopping performance on the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards. She was nominated for CMT Breakout Video of the Year with “Giddy On Up” garnering over 12 million views on Youtube. “Giddy On Up” was also featured on the popular video game Just Dance 3. “Achin & Shakin” earned a Gold Record in Norway and eventually led to her touring in Europe and internationally. Her 2013 single with Big Machine Records, “Two Step” featuring Colt Ford, answers the age-old question of what happens when you combine HOT, country, dance tracks and hip-hop beats. Bundy was featured in Rolling Stone for being the first female country artist to incorporate hip hop and dance beats into her music. Her 2015 Big Machine album was released to rave reviews and her single “I Am What I Am” was Top 10 in Australia’s Country Music Charts and was heavily rotated on CMT. Laura Bell wrote, directed and produced all four of the music videos for this album.
This need to create and connect has been LBB’s inner compass. Kind of like Dora The Explorer…but not as ethnic. LBBTV (Stand for “Little Bit Bitchy– cause bitches get shit done”) is Bundy’s production company that was founded to forge her own creative path and to pursue an overflowing whiskey barrel of comedic and musical ideas. One of the most successful LBBTV projects to date is the sketch comedy web series, Cooter County (www.cootercounty.com). Cooter County has garnered more than four million upload views and a has a cult following (including Katy Perry and Taylor Swift) quoting characters like Shocantelle Brown, Euneeda Biscuit, and Justice Goode, to name a few. These characters all live in the small fictional town of Cooter County, KY. “A small water tower town…with a meth lab,” jokes Laura.
Her YouTube variety series ‘Skits-O-Frenic’ launched on October 21st, 2015. It features Laura singing, dancing and doing comedy sketches, but behind the scenes Laura Bell is writing, directing and produces most of the content released with her LBBTV partners Tiffany & Brooke Engen.
Laura is also a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and has written about her experiences with having a congenital heart defect in the Huffington Post.
LBB has always been a risk taker and a rule breaker, a lesson she learned early on from her beginnings in the “business of show.” Her southern mama taught her that limits were not to be respected. There are no limits; ANYTHING is possible.
