Take a closer look at some of Hollywood's top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Child Stars, Then and Now

Take a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

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Debra Lord Cooke began her career professionally during her college years with a series of nine commercials for a regional dairy company. After receiving a full honors scholarship from the University of Maine at Orono to study her junior year in Canterbury, England, Debra interned at The Marlowe Theatre, studied theater through the British Studies Centre (AUI), and Television & Film Production at Christ Church College.

Debra branched into casting working with inde films, commercials, and print. Major films also used her services for location casting including The Man Without a Face (1993), In the Bedroom (2001), and Empire Falls (2005). She has also worked as a First Assistant Director on projects such as the feature film shot in Maine and in Florida, Baby It's Cold Outside (2004). Debra was a founding member of The Maine Film & Television Association, serving as Treasurer for 3 years, and held a Governor appointed position on the Maine Film Commission Board from 2002, serving as chair for some years.

Debra has since returned to her passion of acting (SAG/AFTRA). Her credits include the HBO Pilot Spring/Fall (2011) staring Téa Leoni and Hope Davis, as well as Guiding Light (1952), The Onion (2007), and feature films, Blood, Sweat, & Brando (2008), A Stranger Within (2003), and Academy Award winner, Ernest Thompson's feature, Time and Charges (2013). Theater credits include "Light Up The Sky", "Three Viewings", "Punch And Judy", "BecauseHeCan", as well as sketch and improv shows.

Debra has over a decade of experience as an on-camera acting coach through her casting company as well as The Junior Theatre Group, a community outreach program, at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, England, The Maine Film Commission, and at schools and colleges as a guest at SMTVI, the University of Maine at Orono, and several high schools. Debra has also worked as an acting instructor at The John Pallotta Studios in New York City.

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