{"id":2262985,"date":"2026-02-02T14:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2262985"},"modified":"2026-02-02T14:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:49:26","slug":"ali-larters-career-from-varsity-blues-bikini-moment-to-landman-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ali-larters-career-from-varsity-blues-bikini-moment-to-landman-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Ali Larter\u2019s career from \u2018Varsity Blues\u2019 bikini moment to \u2018Landman\u2019 star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F02%2Fali-larter-s-rise-shock-120187077.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Ali Larter\u00a0has been in the business for over two decades and has quite the resume.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent interview with\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ali-larter-hates-shooting-landman-bikini-scenes-the-hardest-for-me-exclusive-11890052\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People magazine<\/a>, the 49-year-old \u201cLandman\u201d star spoke about filming her many bikini scenes on the show, noting she doesn\u2019t \u201cthink there\u2019s an actress alive that\u2019s like, \u2018Woo! Got a bikini scene!&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose are the hardest for me,\u201d she continued. \u201cI don\u2019t enjoy them. It\u2019s just part of the story that I\u2019m telling, and I\u2019m an actress, so I get on board. But those are definitely my least favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here is a look back at her career, starting from her modeling days in the 1990s to her transition into acting.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Varsity Blues\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The actress got her start in the industry as a model when she was 13 years old. Her modeling career took her around the world before she decided to step away from the fashion industry and pursue acting.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Here is a look back at \u201cLandman\u201d star Ali Larter\u2019s acting career. <span class=\"credit\">Melanie Miller \/ BACKGRID<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following a few small roles, including appearances on \u201cSuddenly Susan\u201d and \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek,\u201d Larter had her big break when she starred as Darcy in the 1999 movie, \u201cVarsity Blues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Varsity Blues\u2019 is what began it all, and it was a really feel good movie \u2026 I think it was a simpler time in a way and I think that, again, it was a feel good movie, but I love that even for Darcy, I was able to show her vulnerability,\u201d Larter told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ali-larter-looks-back-on-breakout-role-in-varsity-blues-what-began-it-all-exclusive-11843634\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People<\/a>\u00a0about the film in November 2025. \u201cThis was a girl who was trying to find her way out, and then you see her deeply embarrassed and crying over the choices that she\u2019s made for herself as a young girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movie centers around a high school football team and their coach, played by Jon Voight, who will go to great lengths to secure his team\u2019s win.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter\u2019s \u201cVarsity Blues\u201d character attempted to entice the team\u2019s quarterback, played by\u00a0James Van Der Beek, by wearing a whipped cream bikini.  <span class=\"credit\">Paramount<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Larter\u2019s character appears in one of the film\u2019s most memorable moments, attempting to entice the team\u2019s quarterback, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/12\/01\/entertainment\/james-van-der-beek-selling-varsity-blues-merch-to-pay-for-cancer-costs\/\">played by\u00a0James Van Der Beek<\/a>, by wearing a whipped cream bikini. When watching the clip back during an interview with\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4Q6Z9Q5VRFQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Tonight<\/a>\u00a0in January, she joked she has \u201cscarred\u201d her son and father for life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven going into \u2018Varsity Blues,\u2019 I was just learning this industry,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ali-larter-first-job-dawson-creek-joshua-jackson-exclusive-11843884\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People<\/a>\u00a0in November 2025. \u201cI spent so much in my twenties in different acting studios with different acting coaches, learning the different processes, and taking little bits of each thing to put into my toolbox that as I got more and more experience, I knew where to draw from. It was just sweet. It was a great kickoff.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Final Destination\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>After getting her start on \u201cVarsity Blues,\u201d Larter landed a leading role in her first franchise film series, starring as Clear Rivers in the first \u201cFinal Destination\u201d movie in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>The movie tells the story of a group of people who are kicked off of a flight to Paris due to a fight which starts after one of the passengers has a premonition that the plane will explode mid-flight and kill everyone on board. Once off the plane, those left behind, including Larter\u2019s character, witness the plane explode just after takeoff.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter starred as Clear Rivers in the first \u201cFinal Destination\u201d movie in 2000. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9New Line Cinema\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One by one, those who cheated death later die in bizarre accidents, leading Clear and the only remaining survivor to realize they are also in danger.<\/p>\n<p>Larter then reprised the role of Clear Rivers in the 2003 sequel, but didn\u2019t return for the remaining films in the franchise. The film required a lot of stunts, many of which Larter performed herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that they realized that I could do that stuff,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4Q6Z9Q5VRFQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Tonight<\/a>\u00a0earlier this month. \u201cI\u2019m very athletic. I\u2019ve played sports my entire life. And when I\u2019m learning something or doing stunts, I\u2019m there. I\u2019m excited to learn. Um, my personality is someone who has a growth mentality. I love learning new things.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Legally Blonde\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Larter appeared in her first-ever comedy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/07\/09\/legally-blonde-cast-secrets-20-years-after-iconic-film\/\">the 2001 movie, \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d<\/a> alongside\u00a0Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair and others.<\/p>\n<p>The light-hearted film follows Witherspoon\u2019s character, Elle Woods, on her journey to try to win back her boyfriend by attending Harvard Law School, and in the end finding out she was capable of much more than she initially believed.<\/p>\n<p>Larter portrayed Brooke Windham, a fitness mogul, who is on trial for murdering her husband. The character was seen as a blonde bombshell who is devoted to exercise and her appearance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter appeared in her first-ever comedy in the 2001 movie, \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d portraying Brooke Windham, a fitness mogul on trial for murdering her husband.  <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cI knew the script was really funny, and I did want to work with Reese and I wanted to play this character, because I remember going in and auditioning for it and like slapping my butt in it and like kind of really going for it,\u201d Larter said. <span class=\"credit\">Paramount<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYou never know,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4Q6Z9Q5VRFQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Tonight<\/a>\u00a0about the film\u2019s success. \u201cBut I knew the script was really funny, and I did want to work with Reese and I wanted to play this character, because I remember going in and auditioning for it and like slapping my butt in it and like kind of really going for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movie went on to become a classic, inspiring a sequel and a prequel series set to release soon on Amazon Prime. In addition, a third film is currently in the works focusing on Elle in her 40s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have not heard a thing. I mean, we all hope. Who knows where it will go,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/ali-larter-update-legally-blonde-3-11856077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">InStyle<\/a>\u00a0in November 2025 about the third film. \u201cWe\u2019re kind of aging up, so I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know, but maybe Michelle [Randolph] will be playing me soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Resident Evil: Extinction\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Larter joined her second franchise when she starred in \u201cResident Evil: Extinction,\u201d the third film in the \u201cResident Evil\u201d series, continuing to appear on the franchise until the 2016 installment, \u201cResident Evil: The Final Chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after the spread of a man-made virus, and follows a group of survivors as they battle zombies and monsters, as well as the corporation responsible for the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter joined the third film in the \u201cResident Evil\u201d series about a post-apocalyptic world after the spread of a man-made virus, where survivors battle zombies and monsters. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Screen Gems\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Larter portrayed Claire Redfield, who teams up with the main character in the third film to help civilians get to safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s incredible,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/GMA\/video\/milla-jovovich-ali-larter-talk-resident-evil-live-45054606\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ABC<\/a>\u00a0in January 2017. \u201cI\u2019ve traveled around the world with this movie, and to be able to be in something that is female-led, where you would typically see men in these roles, and then after three movies together, you don\u2019t see us pit against each other. It\u2019s about women building each other up, and you don\u2019t fall into those clich\u00e9 traps.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Heroes\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In between her starring roles in big franchise films, Larter also starred in four seasons of the hit\u00a0NBC show \u201cHeroes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The show revolved around a group of ordinary people who realize they have supernatural powers and who must work together to prevent a catastrophic event.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter also starred in four seasons of the hit\u00a0NBC show \u201cHeroes,\u201d about ordinary people who find out they have supernatural powers. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 NBC Universal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter plays multiple characters, including Niki Sanders, Sanders\u2019 alter ego, Jessica, and Tracy Strauss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Larter plays multiple characters on the show, including Niki Sanders, a single mom who works as an online stripper to support her son and who develops superhuman strength. Niki also has dissociative identity disorder, and sometimes turns into her more violent alter ego, Jessica.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a woman who\u2019s being put into a corner who is doing whatever she can to take care of her family,\u201d she said of Niki in a November 2025 interview with\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ali-larter-heroes-season-two-different-writers-exclusive-11844023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People<\/a>. \u201cThen, the way that connected with audiences on a worldwide level, to believe that there\u2019s that power within you, that there\u2019s something special in all of us. That was just a show that hit at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In later seasons, she portrays Tracy Strauss, a political operative who has the ability to freeze people.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Landman\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Larter\u2019s latest success is her starring role in the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/15\/media\/landman-takes-aim-at-the-view-calls-it-a-show-about-pissed-off-millionaires-b-ing-about-trump\/\">Paramount + hit, \u201cLandman,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which follows wealthy oil tycoons and the laborers on the oil rigs in West Texas as the industry begins to take over the state.<\/p>\n<p>The series stars Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, a former laborer turned landman, who Larter\u2019s character, Angela Norris, was married to and is still very much connected to.<\/p>\n<p>Angela is known for her confident, no-nonsense attitude and her sensual style, often seen on-screen in bikinis, or other tight, revealing and provocative outfits.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ali Larter as Angela Norris in \u201cLandman\u201d episode 5, season 2. <span class=\"credit\">Emerson Miller\/Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Larter\u2019s character, Angela, is known for her confident, no-nonsense attitude and is often seen in tight, revealing and provocative outfits. <span class=\"credit\">Emerson Miller\/Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn the end, anytime you have to\u00a0put on a bathing suit\u00a0and walk in front of anybody, it\u2019s really difficult,\u201d she told People in November 2025. \u201cWhen I look around, the sexiest women I know are the women that own it. So, part of getting there with Angela is owning it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cBut no matter what it\u2019s like, I\u2019ve got to spend all this time fighting off my own insecurities, my own anxiety, to be able to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/26\/entertainment\/ali-larter-hates-bikini-scenes-in-taylor-sheridans-landman\/\">put on that bikini <\/a>and walk into these scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Larter previously shared a photo of herself from her on-set trailer on Instagram in a red bikini, sharing in the caption that \u201cplaying a character that is so comfortable in her body drives me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ali Larter\u00a0has been in the business for over two decades and has quite the resume. In a recent interview with\u00a0People magazine, the 49-year-old \u201cLandman\u201d star spoke about filming her many bikini scenes on the show, noting she doesn\u2019t \u201cthink there\u2019s an actress alive that\u2019s like, \u2018Woo! Got a bikini scene!&#8217;\u201d \u201cThose are the hardest for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2262986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,313642,411553,21751,21741,21993],"class_list":["post-2262985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-ali-larter","tag-careers","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-films"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ali-Larters-career-from-\u2018Varsity-Blues-bikini-moment-to-\u2018Landman.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2262987,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262985\/revisions\/2262987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2262986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}