Lauren Courtney Mayhew (November 27, 1989) is an American singer and actress and former ring announcer for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown brand.
Life and career[]
Mayhew was born in Tampa, Florida to David Mayhew, an orthopaedic surgeon and Sharon Mayhew, a nurse. She has a sister named Briana. At the age of 8, she starred in the PBS series, The Reppies. At the age of 9 she was a finalist in the national Wilhemnia contest. A judge, Marilyn Zitner, who was a manager in New York, signed her. She booked the role of Marah Lewis on Guiding Light.
Lauren took a break from acting and signed with Sony Records to be part of the group PYT, which went on to release an album and tour with Destiny's Child, 'N Sync, and Britney Spears. Lauren performed at the preshow for the Super Bowl in 2001, and has been featured in numerous magazines with PYT. She has also appeared in music videos with Mandy Moore, Faith Hill, Julia Price and two of her own music videos with PYT. After PYT broke up, she joined her former bandmate Lydia Bell in a new group called "Turning Point."
In her feature film debut, New Line Cinema's Raise Your Voice, Lauren starred as Hilary Duff's arch-rival "Robin," a role that allowed her to transform into a cynical and malicious diva for the first time. She later appeared in the direct-to-video movie American Pie Presents: Band Camp as Arianna. She has also guest starred on such shows as: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, Joan of Arcadia, Medical Investigation, and had a recurring role for one season on NBC's drama American Dreams.
Lauren is involved with The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, a charitable organization in helping to prevent against eating disorders. In 2006 she released a solo album called Mayhew, available on iTunes. She has recently graduated from UCLA in Los Angeles.
Mayhew began working for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestling promotion as a ring announcer for its ECW brand during the October 6, 2009 episode of ECW. Lauren's short term contract with WWE expired and was not renewed, as the two parties could not come to an agreement for a longer-term contract.
Mayhew also writes and licenses her music to film and TV. She has had songs on NBC's "The Voice," Lifetime's "Dance Moms," MTV's "The Hills," E Network's "Giulianna and Bill," Universal's "Bring It On: In It to Win It," and assorted other works.