Sexually abused by an uncle, Lipton was a nervous and withdrawn child with a so bad that she was sometimes unable to say her own name.
The couple had two daughters, and , who both became actresses.
She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as Julie Barnes in the crime drama 1968—1973 , for which she won the in 1970.
For whatever reason, Laurie appeared primarily in slacks and long, long dresses.
At age eighteen she began using drugs in an attempt to alleviate her depression.
Lipton separated from Jones in 1986, and they divorced in 1989.