Lusia Strus

{{Infobox person

| name = Lusia Strus

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name_lang = uk

| native_name = Люсія Струс

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|12|13}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Actress, writer

| yearsactive = 1998–present

}}

Lusia Rozalia Strus{{efn|{{langx|uk|Люсія Розалія Струс|{{transliteration|uk|ukrainian|Liusiia Rozaliia Strus}}}}}} (born December 13, 1969) is an American writer and stage and film actress with Neo-Futurists.

Childhood and work as a theater actress

Strus was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Ukrainian family. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language{{cite news |last1=Louis Coetzee |first1=Ruchel |title=Good Behavior's Estelle, Lusia Strus, Says She Was Basically Letty as a Teenager |url=http://www.newyou.com/celebrity/good-behaviors-estelle-lusia-strus-says-basically-letty-teenager/ |access-date=December 12, 2017 |work=NewYou |date=January 26, 2017}} and regularly attended Ukrainian school on weekends. She had first decisive successes at performing arts, while a high school student, and attended Illinois State University. As a theater major, she joined Greg Allen's Neo-Futurist ensemble, in 1993, which she wrote solo and ensemble performances for. She has played for the Chicago Steppenwolf, Goodman, and Victory Gardens theaters as well as for the Curious Theatre Company, the Northlight Repertory, and others, and has also worked for Yoplait, WBEZ, and the Chicago Jazz Festival.{{cite web |website=E-poets.network |title=e-poets: Lusia Strus |url=http://voices.e-poets.net/StrusL/ |access-date=February 13, 2011}}

Film and TV actress

Strus is noted for her role as Adam Sandler's assistant (Alexa) in 50 First Dates, as well as for playing eclectic characters and sometimes incorporating unusual accents in her roles. Her career has spanned theatre and stage for nearly two decades. She had a recurring role on Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide as Dr. Xavier. Strus played Janine in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and plays Rachel in Jason Lew's and Gus Van Sant's Restless. She had a recurring role in Wayward Pines (2015), and played Letty's mother Estelle on Good Behavior from 2016 to 2018.