Kyra was born in New York and attended private schools. She made her professional acting debut at 16 on the soap opera "Another World" (1964). A graduate of USC, Kyra has pursued a career that includes stage, screen and television. Kyra's reason for becoming an actor is that it gives her the ability to be compassionate and to walk around in the shoes of others. Her first brush with stardom came in Born on the Fourth of July (1989) as Donna, the high school sweetheart of Tom Cruise. Two of her roles led to Golden Globe nominations: Miss Rose White (1992) (TV) and Something to Talk About (1995). She met her husband when they played leads in the TV movie _Lemon Sky (1988)(TV)