At just 18 years old, Laura Prepon landed the role of Donna Pinciotti, the girl next door and the love interest of the lead, Eric Forman, in the popular sitcom That ’70s Show. It was her tomboy attitude with the character that drew the producers to cast Prepon in the role. Now, 28 years later, the actress has shown up in plenty of other popular shows, but none of them as memorable as That ’70s Show. Will Laura Prepon ever shake her Donna Pinciotti character?
Over a period of 8 seasons between 1998 and 2006, That ’70s Show catapulted most of its cast to stardom. Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Danny Masterson and Ashton Kutcher all became household names, too. But Prepon stood out in her own unique way. And it wasn’t just for her fiery red hair. The character wasn’t your typical love interest. She was independent and had more emotional maturity than the rest of the gang. Just one stare from Donna and Eric melted.
When the show finally ended in 2006, Prepon jumped straight into her next gig: playing Hannah Daniels, a single mom, in ABC’s October Road in 2007. While the show received negative reviews and only lasted two seasons (just 19 episodes), it proved that Prepon had more to offer than her Donna character from That ’70s Show.
From there, the young actress found work in House, How I Met Your Mother, and Castle. During that time period, she had plenty of cameos in popular shows.
In fact, it wasn’t until she landed the lead in Are You There, Chelsea? that she had a new main role. But that didn’t last long either. Brutal reviews and a 18% Rotten Tomatoes score saw the show end after just one season.
Then came her biggest role to date (outside of That ’70s Show). Her role as Alex Vause in Orange Is the New Black once again catapulted her into stardom. From 2013 to 2019, she played a very dangerous character in the prison drama. She proved once and for all that she wasn’t a one-hit wonder.
Behind the scenes, her life changed too. In 2018, she married Ben Foster, and they had two children together. She also co-authored The Stash Plan in 2016 and later wrote You & I, as Mothers in 2020.
Ironically, she returned to play Donna again in That ’90s Show, a revival show that continued from That ’70s Show, which she also directed. And even though that show too was canceled after just two seasons, it was great seeing the cast again.
At 18, Laura Prepon said, “Just do not give up.” Years later, she looked back and admitted that might’ve been the best advice she ever gave herself.
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