Who was Lisa Loring? Everything You Need to Know

Lisa Loring was born Lisa Ann DeCinces, on February 16, 1958, in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. Her parents served in the ‘United States Navy.’ According to sources, her mother was of Polynesian descent and her father had Caucasian roots. Her parents divorced shortly after she was born. She was raised by her mother, Judith, in Hawaii. They later relocated to Los Angeles.

Loring lost her mother to chronic alcoholism in 1974, when the latter was aged 34.

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Career

Loring was just a 3-year-old kid when she forayed into the entertainment industry with modeling. In 1964, she was featured in a single episode of the ‘NBC’ medical drama series ‘Dr. Kildare.’ The same year, she got her big break when she was included in the cast of the American TV series ‘The Addams Family,’ which was based on ‘The New Yorker’ cartoons created by Charles Addams.

In ‘The Addams Family,’ Loring essayed the role of ‘Wednesday Addams,’ a strange yet sweet-natured little girl with a fetish for bizarre pets. The series aired on ‘ABC’ for two seasons, from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966, and gained Loring widespread recognition. Years later, she appeared as ‘Wednesday Addams Sr.’ in the American made-for-TV comedy–horror film ‘Halloween with the New Addams Family,’ based on the series. The film was aired on ‘NBC’ on October 30, 1977.

Meanwhile, in 1966, she appeared in the ‘ABC’ situation comedy ‘The Pruitts of Southampton.’

From 1980 to 1983, Loring appeared as ‘Cricket Montgomery’ in the long-running ‘CBS’ soap opera ‘As the World Turns.’

She played ‘Dory’ in the Hal Freeman-directed 1987 American horror film ‘Blood Frenzy.’ It was based on the script ‘Warning - No Trespassing’ by Ray Dennis Steckler and was released on video.

Some of her other notable film roles have been those of ‘Roxey’ in the 1988 action–drama film ‘Death Feud,’ starring Frank Stallone, and ‘Vera’ in the 2014 comedy–horror science-fiction film ‘Way Down in Chinatown.’

According to some sources, as of April 2002, she was working in public relations for a hotel chain. Reportedly, she returned to acting in 2011.

Loring occasionally tours across the US for ‘The Addams Family’ conventions and loves to sign autographs and meet fans.

Family & Personal Life

On March 10, 1973, she married her childhood sweetheart, Farrell Foumberg. Their daughter, Vanessa Foumberg, was born the following year, when Loring was just 16 years old. The marriage, however, ended in 1974.

She then married actor Doug Stevenson in 1981. Her second daughter, Marianne Stevenson, was born soon. Doug and Loring divorced in 1983.

While working as a makeup artist on the set of the adult film ‘Traci's Big Trick’ in 1987, Loring met adult film actor Jerry Butler. They married on August 19 that year. However, the years that followed saw Loring expressing her discontent over Butler's continuous association with pornography. This saw Butler continuing his work in pornography productions covertly, without disclosing the fact to Loring.

In the 1990s, during an interview with the weekly American TV news magazine/reality legal show ‘Dateline NBC,’ Butler mentioned that he had become "addicted to the lifestyle." He said that he was ashamed of his behavior and its effect on his marriage. Butler and Loring later discussed how Butler’s porn career was damaging their married life, when they appeared on the American syndicated tabloid talk show known as the ‘Sally Jessy Raphael Show.’ The couple ended their marriage in 1992.

Meanwhile, in 1991, Loring became addicted to heroin. However, her zeal to overcome her condition led her to enter a rehabilitation facility and successfully complete treatment in 1992.

In 2003, Loring married Graham Rich. They, however, separated in 2008. After 6 years of separation, Loring divorced Rich in June 2014.

The diva considered American actor John Astin, who appeared as her reel-life father, ‘Gomez Addams,’ in ‘The Addams Family’ (1964 series), her favorite acting mentor and best friend. She was highly influenced by him.

Loring was featured in the 2015 book ‘X Child Stars: Where Are They Now?’ by Fred Ascher and Kathy Garver.

Lisa Loring died on January 28, 2023, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. She was admitted to the hospital after after "a massive stroke," caused by high blood pressure four days prior. She was 64, and survibved by her daughters, Vanessa and Marianne.

Lisa Loring Biography