Lisa Loring was born in 1958 on the Kwajalein Atoll, the southernmost of the Marshall Islands, to a naval family. Her parents separated shortly after her birth, and her mother, Judith Loring, received custody of her. Lisa Loring was initially raised in Hawaii before moving with her mother to Los Angeles.
She started working as a child model in 1961 and eventually took a few acting roles. She guest-starred in a 1964 episode of the medical drama "Dr. Kildare" before being cast as Wednesday Addams in the sitcom "The Addams Family" in 1964. She was only 6 years old at the time and it was her first regular role in television. The series lasted for two seasons and 64 episodes, ending in 1966.
Loring was cast in the role of Susan "Suzy" Pruitt in the short-lived sitcom "The Pruitts of Southampton" in 1966. The series used much of the former cast of "The Addams Family" and revolved around the family's efforts to raise money while maintaining secrecy.
In 1973, Loring married her boyfriend Farrell Foumberg and gave birth to her daughter Vanessa that year. The couple divorced in 1974. Judith Loring died in 1974 from alcoholism. Lisa Loring had to provide for herself and her daughter. She appeared infrequently in television films during the late 1970s.
Loring was cast as Wednesday Sr. in the television film "Halloween with the New Addams Family" in 1977. She joined the cast of the soap opera "As the World Turns" in 1980, portraying Cricket Montgomery, a half-sister of the regular character Margo Montgomery Hughes. She continued appearing in the series until 1984.
In 1981, Loring married the soap opera actor Doug Stevenson and had daughter Marianne early in their marriage. They received a divorce in 1983. Loring's acting career was in hiatus until she agreed to play in the slasher film "Blood Frenzy" in 1987. She was an uncredited co-writer in the pornographic film "Traci's Big Trick" in 1987.
Loring co-starred in the slasher film "Iced" in 1988, which was her last notable role for several years. By the early 1990s, Loring was feeling depressed due to the decline of her career and her poor relationship with her husband. She tried to self-medicate her condition, leading to a drug addiction. In 1991, Loring was the first person to discover the corpse of her friend Kelly Van Dyke, who had committed suicide by hanging. Loring was in a fragile state of mind and made a suicide attempt not long after. In 1992, she went to rehab and beat her addiction.
Loring gave a few interviews in the mid-1990s but semi-retired from acting. She resumed her acting career in the mid-2010s with appearances in two different horror films. Lisa Loring died in 2023 at the age of 64.
