Laura Van Kirk is a supporting character on The CW's Dynasty. She is portrayed by Sharon Lawrence.
Laura is Liam’s well-bred, erudite mother who is so overpowering and manipulative that she puts Fallon’s mother, Alexis, to shame.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Laura Van Kirk was born into a wealthy family of high social standing and later married an equally powerful millionaire, John Lowden. Together, they had two children, including their son, Liam Ridley.
Eighteen years later, Laura discovered that John had been having an affair with Liam's high school girlfriend, Heidi. To protect both her family’s image and her late husband from potential legal consequences—since Heidi was only 17 at the time—Laura manipulated the situation. She convinced Heidi to deceive Liam by claiming the baby was his and arranged for her to be sent away to give birth, with the intent of putting the child up for adoption. However, unbeknownst to everyone, Heidi secretly decided to keep the baby, naming him Connor.
Following John's death, Laura suffered a mental breakdown, which manifested in her obsessive need for control, leading her to berate Liam while striving for perfection in every aspect of their lives. Some years later, she remarried George.
Series[]
Following the death of her brother Max, Laura arrives in Atlanta to check on Liam and meet his new wife, Fallon Carrington. Her overbearing nature leads to immediate tension, especially when Fallon stands up to her on Liam's behalf.
In a subsequent appearance, Laura feigns a cancer diagnosis to elicit sympathy from Liam. She collaborates with Fallon's brother, Adam Carrington, who assists in her deceit and engages in a brief affair with her. Laura's machinations intensify when Liam suffers amnesia; she files a restraining order against Fallon and attempts to expedite Liam's marriage to another woman, Ashley, to keep Fallon at bay. However, Liam eventually calls off the wedding, sensing unresolved aspects of his past.
It is later revealed that Laura had coerced Liam's ex-girlfriend, Heidi, into falsely claiming that her child, Connor, was Liam's, when in fact the father was Laura's late husband. This manipulation strains her relationship with Liam, leading him to cut ties with her. In a bid to regain control, Laura conspires with Blake Carrington to sabotage Fallon and Liam's engagement, offering to approve the sale of Carrington Atlantic back to Blake in exchange. Despite their plan's failure, Laura and Blake engage in a brief affair.
Laura's final scheme involves a partnership with Adam to secure her position as CEO of Van Kirk Industries by obtaining Liam's vote. When Liam refuses, Laura publicly humiliates Fallon over her fertility issues, leading to a complete severance of ties with her son. In a tragic turn, Laura accidentally administers an excessive dose of Adam's experimental anti-aging drug, resulting in disorientation. She subsequently trips and fatally impales herself on her own shoe heel.
Throughout the series, Laura Van Kirk's relentless pursuit of control and manipulation ultimately leads to her downfall, impacting her relationships and sealing her tragic fate.
Appearances[]
Dynasty: Season 1 (0/22) | ||||||||||
"I Hardly Recognized You": | "Spit It Out": | "Guilt is for Insecure People": | "Private as a Circus": | "Company Slut": | "I Exist Only For Me": | "A Taste of Your Own Medicine": | "The Best Things In Life": | "Rotten Things": | "A Well-Dressed Tarantula": | "I Answer to No Man": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Promises You Can't Keep": | "Nothing But Trouble": | "The Gospel According to Blake Carrington": | "Our Turn Now": | "Poor Little Rich Girl": | "Enter Alexis": | "Don't Con a Con Artist": | "Use or Be Used": | "A Line From the Past": | "Trashy Little Tramp": | "Dead Scratch": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Dynasty: Season 2 (2/22) | ||||||||||
"Twenty-Three Skidoo": | "Ship of Vipers": | "The Butler Did It": | "Snowflakes in Hell": | "Queen of Cups": | "That Witch": | "A Temporary Infestation": | "A Real Instinct for the Jugular": | "Crazy Lady": | "A Champagne Mood": | "The Sight of You": |
Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned |
"Filthy Games": | "Even Worms Can Procreate": | "Parisian Legend Has It...: | "Motherly Overprotectiveness": | "Miserably Ungrateful Men": | "How Two-Faced Can You Get": | "Life is A Masquerade Party": | "This Illness of Mine": | "New Lady in Town": | "Thicker Than Money": | "Deception, Jealousy, and Lies": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned |
Dynasty: Season 3 (4/20) | ||||||||||
"Guilt Trip to Alaska": | "Caution Never Won A War": | "Wild Ghost Chase": | "Something Desperate": | "Mother? I’m At La Mirage": | "A Used Up Memory": | "Shoot From the Hip": | "The Sensational Blake Carrington Trial": | "The Caviar, I Trust, Is Not Burned": | "What Sorrows Are You Drowning?": | |
Mentioned | Appears | Mentioned | Appears | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | |
"A Wound That May Never Heal": | "Battle Lines": | "You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White": | "That Wicked Stepmother": | "Up A Tree": | "Is The Next Surgery on The House?": | "She Cancelled...": | "You Make Being a Priest Sound Like Something Bad": | "Robin Hood Rescues": | "My Hangover's Arrived": | |
Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned | Absent | Appears | Appears | Mentioned | Mentioned | Mentioned |
Dynasty: Season 4 (1/22) | ||||||||||
"That Unfortunate Dinner": | "Vows Are Still Sacred": | "The Aftermath": | "Everybody Loves The Carringtons": | "New Hopes, New Beginnings": | "A Little Father-Daughter Chat": | "The Birthday Party": | "Your Sick and Self-Serving Vendetta": | "Equal Justice for the Rich": | "I Hate to Spoil Your Memories": | "A Public Forum for Her Lies": |
Appears | Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent |
"Everything But Facing Reality": | "Go Rescue Someone Else": | "But I Don't Need Therapy": | "She Lives in a Showplace Penthouse": | "The British Are Coming": | "Stars Make You Smile": | "A Good Marriage in Every Sense": | "Everything Looks Wonderful, Joseph": | "You Vicious, Miserable Liar": | "Affairs of State and Affairs of the Heart": | "Filled With Manipulations and Deceptions": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent |
Dynasty: Season 5 (1/22) | ||||||||||
"Let's Start Over Again": | "That Holiday Spirit": | "How Did The Board Meeting Go?": | "Go Catch Your Horse": | "A Little Fun Wouldn't Hurt": | "Devoting All Of Her Energy to Hate": | "A Real Actress Could Do It": | "The Only Thing That Counts Is Winning": | "A Friendly Kiss Between Friends": | "Mind Your Own Business": | "I'll Settle For a Prayer": |
Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"There's No Need to Panic": | "Do You Always Talk to Turtles": | "Vicious Vendetta": | "Ben": | "My Family, My Blood": | "There's No One Around to Watch You Drown": | "A Writer of Dubious Talent": | "But a Drug Scandal?": | "First Kidnapping and Now Theft": | "More Power to Her": | "Catch 22": |
Absent | Appears | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Trivia[]
- When Liam was eight, Laura left him alone on a mountain in Aspen for twelve hours, because she forgot he was with her. ("The Butler Did It")
- Laura describes herself as intensely competitive, with Liam referencing tennis as a "blood sport." ("The Butler Did It")