Lea Thompson (born May 31, 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota) is an American actress. She attended Marshall-University High School in Minneapolis.

She studied dance as an infant, and danced professionally by the age of 14. Lea then won scholarships to several ballet schools. Being informed by Baryshnikov that she was too stocky, however, she decided to give up dancing in favor of an acting career. She moved to New York at the age of 20, and performed in a number of Burger King ads in the 1980s.