79%User score 79 percent
Gilmore Girls
2000 · Comedy · Drama
Leslie Ann Phillips (born June 28, 1962), better known by her stage name Sam Phillips, is an American singer and songwriter. She is also an actress, best known for her film acting debut as the mute terrorist Katya in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Phillips made a cameo appearance in the 1997 Wim Wenders film The End of Violence, singing part of the song "Animals on Wheels" from Omnipop.
Phillips also began writing music for and scoring the TV series Gilmore Girls, and appeared in the final episode of season six, performing "Taking Pictures" from her Fan Dance album. She also composed scores for the television shows Bunheads, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
She began her musical career in the early 1980s in the contemporary Christian music industry, where she sang background vocals for Christian artists Mark Heard and Randy Stonehill. Phillips was signed as a solo artist with Myrrh Records under her given name and recorded four Christian pop albums: Beyond Saturday Night, Dancing with Danger, Black and White in a Grey World and, The Turning. The Turning teamed her with producer T Bone Burnett, whom she would later marry.
Several of Phillips' songs became Top 10 singles on Christian radio and Myrrh records promoted her as "the Christian Cyndi Lauper". Phillips was never comfortable with this image, and it was a bone of contention between her and her label. She began using the name "Sam" professionally in 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records in order to distance herself from her prior persona.
With The Indescribable Wow, Philips moved into mainstream music. Cruel Inventions was released in 1991, and included a guest performance by Elvis Costello. 1994's Martinis and Bikinis was nominated for a Grammy Award, her second nomination.
