Alicia Witt

Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American film, stage and television actress who can currently be seen on the series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Diane, a junior high school reading teacher, and Robert Witt, a science teacher and photographer.[1] She has a brother, Ian. Witt was discovered by David Lynch when she appeared on the television show That's Incredible! in 1980; she had recited Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He cast her in the movie Dune (1984), where she played Paul Atreides' young sister Alia. She turned eight during filming.[2] Afterwards, she left Hollywood to concentrate on her studies and music. She was home schooled by her parents. She studied piano at Boston University[citation needed] and won several national and international classical piano competitions, including the "Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition".

At age 14, Witt earned her high school diploma. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Hollywood with her mother (who was noted from 1988-93 in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's longest hair; it is not known for sure if she still has her long hair) to pursue a career as a full-time actress. Soon, Lynch, to whom she refers as a mentor, created the role of Gersten Hayward especially for her in his successful series Twin Peaks. He cast her again in Blackout, a segment in his short-lived HBO series Hotel Room.