Lark Voorhies

Lark Voorhies, born Lark Holloway on March 25, 1974, in Nashville, Tennessee, is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Lisa Turtle on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell from 1989 to 1993. Voorhies was nominated for six Young Artist Awards for her work on the show, winning two in 1990 and 1993.

Born to Wayne and Tricia Holloway, she was named Lark after a character in the 1972 film Cool Breeze. Her family relocated to Pasadena, California, when she was two years old. That same year, her mother introduced her to a talent agent, although her initial audition was unsuccessful when she froze up. At age twelve, she landed a role in a national television commercial for the Universal Studios Tour advertising its King Kong attraction.

Voorhies made her acting debut at age two, but her mother put her career on hold until she was more comfortable in front of cameras. She returned to television at age fourteen with a 1988 episode of Small Wonder. In June 1988, she was cast as Lisa Turtle in the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, appearing in thirteen episodes from 1988 to 1989. When NBC picked up and retooled the series into Saved by the Bell, Voorhies remained in her role.

Following her breakout role, Voorhies appeared in various television sitcoms and soap operas. In 1993, she played single mother Wendy Reardon on Days of Our Lives. Starting in September 1995, she portrayed intern fashion designer Jasmine Malone on The Bold and the Beautiful. She was released from her contract in November 1996 after refusing to perform sex scenes due to her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Her guest appearances include Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Family Matters, and In the House, as well as recurring roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Beyond television, Voorhies appeared in movies and direct-to-video films. She played Harvard student Lauren in the 2001 movie How High, appeared in a 1990 film adaptation of The Black Man's Guide to Understanding Black Women, and played Ana Smith in the 2008 film The Next Hit. In music, she featured in music videos for artists such as Kenny Lattimore, Boyz II Men, Montell Jordan, and Dru Hill. She was also part of the group X-Girls, later known as Geneva, and formed the alternative band Third Degree as lead singer.

In 2010 and 2011, Voorhies self-published three books: Reciprocity, Trek of the Cheshire, and A True Light. Although her acting appearances slowed after 2008, NBC announced in 2020 that Voorhies would reprise her role as Lisa Turtle for the Saved by the Bell sequel series on Peacock.

In her personal life, Voorhies dated co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar from 1989 to 1992 and was engaged to actor Martin Lawrence in 1993. She was married to Miguel Coleman from 1996 until their divorce in 2004. In April 2015, she married Jimmy Green in Las Vegas, filing for divorce six months later. In 2020, Voorhies publicly revealed that she had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2015.