Awarded a 1987 Tony for lead actress in the play "Broadway Bound."
Best remembered by the public for her starring role in "Alice" (1976).
Graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1959.
Lavin's mother, Lucille Potter Lavin, was a coloratura soprano beside such singing notables as Risë Stevens and Paul Whiteman in concert, radio and TV.
Married actor/drummer Steve Bakunas in 2005 after they met during the 2002 run of the Broadway play "Hollywood Arms". They established a residence in Wilmington, North Carolina, and there converted a garage into the Red Barn Theatre which they co-run. She has appeared there in such productions as "Doubt," "Collected Stories," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife".
Teaches master classes at NYU's Undergraduate Performing Arts Division.
Won Broadway's 1987 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for "Broadway Bound." She was also nominated for Tonys three other times: in 1970, as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for "Last of the Red Hot Lovers;" in1998, as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for a revival of "The Diary of Anne Frank," and in 2001, as Best Actress (Play) for "The Tale of an Allergist's Wife."