Richardson, Laura, 1962-

Laura Richardson (born April 14, 1962) is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for California's 37th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She previously represented the 55th district in the California State Assembly for the 2007 term until she was elected to the House of Representatives for California's 37th congressional district in a special election on August 21, 2007, to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Juanita Millender-McDonald.

Richardson was born in Los Angeles. She graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984. In 1987, she joined Xerox Corporation where she worked for 14 years. In 1996, Richardson received her MBA from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. Richardson served on the Long Beach City Council from 2000 to 2006. While serving on the city council, Richardson joined the staff of Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and served as his Southern California director for five years. Richardson was elected to the California assembly in 2006.

On April 21, 2007, Representative Millender-McDonald died after a long battle with cancer. Richardson was one of 18 candidates to run in the June 26 Democratic primary election for the vacant House seat. She prevailed with a plurality of 37 percent of the primary vote. In the heavily Democratic district, Richardson won the August 21 special election with 67 percent of the vote. Re-elected in 2008 and 2010, she lost her 2012 bid for reelection against fellow Democrat Janice Hahn following redistricting.