| Lauralei Combs was only 15 years old when she gave birth to Holly. Holly's parents' marriage only lasted two years. Mother and daughter lived near the beach in San Diego until Holly was eight. After that she lived with her mother and stepfather in New York City. All three lived with Holly's grandmother at one point. They lived in a long series of small studio apartments, never living in one place for very long. Holly says she is now a pack rat because she never had any place to keep things while she was growing up. She also blames her passion for interior decorating on her gypsy-like childhood. Instead of constantly moving, she now constantly redecorates her house in the San Fernando Valley. She spent four years looking for the right house to buy. The deciding factor was a large kennel for her dogs. She also has two horses which she keeps at a nearby stable. Until recently, Holly's mother was living in her guest room. She was previously married to actor Bryan (Bugsy) Smith. They divorced in 1996, after four years of marriage. Holly's first major success came when she was eighteen with a role on Picket Fences. The part was rewritten for her, but she almost didn't get it. Her first meeting with David E. Kelley did not go well, but he ultimately decided to cast her and rewrote the character to fit Holly's personality when he was unable to find anyone who fit the part. After insulting her in their first interview, Kelley had to convince Holly to take the part. Of the incident, Holly says, "I had quite an attitude going." She played Kimberly Brock for four seasons and now speaks very highly of David Kelley's talents. |
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