Jamie Luner was born in Palo Alto, California on May 12, 1971, to Susan and Stuart Luner.[2] She has an older brother, David Luner, who also has had a robust career in entertainment business.[3] Luner attended Beverly Hills High School.[4] Luner was heavily involved in the drama department during her high school career, and at age fifteen she won LA's Shakespeare Festival for the Individual Monologues category in 1988.[5][6]
In between filming Growing Pains and Just the Ten of Us, Luner and her mom moved to New York to pursue Jamie's studies in entertainment.[7] During 1986–1987, she attended the PCS Professional Children's School, which was established for providing working youth in the entertainment business with a basic education and curriculum.[8] Simultaneously, she also studied at HB Studios to study dance with prominent musical theater savant Ann Reinking.
At age sixteen, the producers of Growing Pains asked her to audition for their new spin-off Just the Ten of Us, and upon being cast for the role, Luner returned to California.
In 1994, when Luner was just 23, she decided to pursue her passion for cooking and attended one of LA's top culinary schools, the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts, to study the fundamentals of fine French cuisine.[9]
"I love learning and I wanted to further my education. I've always been on the spiritual path, and as a storyteller, the human psyche truly fascinates me. Brilliantly, school was set up as "experiential learning," so what I didn't expect was the profound internal transformation that occurred. It's been the gift that keeps on giving."
Career
1975–1994
Luner's first role was playing the daughter of Suzanne Somers in a Crown Tissues commercial in 1975 at just four years old.[11] From then on, she appeared regularly in commercials, making ten of them before the age of nine.[12]
Luner made her first television show appearance when she landed the role as the infamous Sheena ‘Woo Woo' Berkowitz in the hit sitcomGrowing Pains (1987–1990).[13] Although she was cast in only one episode to play one of three prom dates of main character Mike Seaver who was played by Kirk Cameron, she was often referenced throughout the rest of the series.[14]
In 1994, Luner expanded her education and passion for cooking and joined the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts which taught classical French cuisine in Los Angeles, California.
"I grew up in a very food-oriented family, a lot of cooking, a lot of eating, and I have a passion for it, so I put myself through culinary school."[21]
Luner's major rise to prominence came in 1996, when she was cast for the first of many times by well-known producer Aaron Spelling.[23] She joined the series as southern vixen Peyton Richards in the prime-time soap opera, Savannah (1996–1997), which was the signature show on the newly launched WB Television Network.[24][25] Luner starred alongside other notable actors such as Robyn Lively, Shannon Sturges, George Eads, Ray Wise, and Mimi Kennedy.[26] Luner had moved to Atlanta, Georgia during the filming of this series, and once it concluded, bought an airstream and traveled the United States for eight months before landing on a lot in Malibu.[27]
It was not long before Spelling then invited her to play Lexi Sterling on the iconic television series Melrose Place (1997–1999), for which Luner's performance gained global recognition.[28] During these final two and a half seasons, the show followed her rivalry with Amanda Woodward played by Heather Locklear, ultimately portraying Luner's character as the alpha female.[29]
Soon thereafter, Luner received an invitation from the NBC network to replace Ally Walker on Profiler (1997–2000).[30][31] She played the role as Rachel Burke alongside Robert Davi, Roma Maffia, and Julian McMahon until the show came to a close at the end of its fourth season in 2000.[32]
Luner's character also appeared in a cross-over episode on The Pretender (1998–2000), a television series that had a shared universe with Profiler.[33]
In the early 2000s, Luner starred in many thrillers such as Stranger in My Bed (2005), Blind Injustice (2005), The Suspect (2006), The Perfect Marriage (2006).[38]
Jamie Luner graduating from University of Santa Monica
Another one of Luner's most well-known works was as a series regular in All My Children (2009–2011) as Liza Colby for 296 episodes, with Chrishell Stause and Susan Lucci.[41]
Luner went on to pursue her lifelong passion in spiritual wellness. She attended USM during 2011 and 2012, ultimately learning life-lasting skills and knowledge on self-awareness and healing.[42]
Between 2015 and 2016 Luner landed a recurring role as Cassie Siletti in Murder in the First with Currie Graham, Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson. At first, she had only been signed on for two episodes, but once producer Steven Bochco saw the chemistry on screen between her and Graham, they became the ‘television couple to watch' and the producers decided to keep her on for the entirety of the next season.[49]
"It was exciting to watch Bochco expand my storyline with Currie Graham, and I am so blessed to work with him. It is a rare experience when you get an acting partner that you're so in sync with. Showing up that way raises the bar."[50]
In 2016 she played the lead character in A Mother's Revenge (aka Trial), and a year later she played the protagonist in A Lover Betrayed (2017) with Maurice Benard.[51]
2020–Present
Jamie Luner on set
In 2019, Luner produced her first movie, The Christmas High Note (2020), for which she also starred as lead, and both wrote her first song and performed it in the movie.[52][53] This movie premiered on "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" holiday lineup that year.[54]
That same year, Luner went to Sofia, Bulgaria to produce and co-star in the romantic comedyLost & Found in Rome (2021).[55] The last day of filming coincided with the first day of shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, and Luner returned to Los Angeles.
Only a couple months into COVID-19, Luner returned to Bulgaria to produce the movies Valley of Love (2023) and I'm with Me (2023).[56][57] While filming for most movies slowed down during the pandemic, Luner was able to produce these in the countryside where the laws for social distancing were not as limiting.[58]
That same year she produced another film For Better or Worse (2023) and played the main character.[59]
In 2009, Luner was invited to attend the talk show The View, and was interviewed about her roles on Melrose Place and All my Children by the hosts including Joy Behar and Sherri Shephard, Whoopi Goldberg.[64]
