Biography
Born in France to an American mother and French father, Laura-May grew up in Paris in a bilingual and artistic environment shaped by science, music, travel, and the arts. Her fascination with astronomy began in childhood after seeing Comet Hale-Bopp crossing the night sky with her mother in 1997, an experience that sparked a lifelong passion for astrophysics and exploration.
After studying Music at Paris’s ESCM, and art and performance at Queen Mary University of London, she went on to study astronomy and astrophysics at the Paris Observatory before moving to Los Angeles in 2017. Since then, she has built a multidisciplinary career spanning astronomy research, art and science communication.
Laura-May currently works at Griffith Observatory where she co-hosts and co-produces the monthly science program All Space Considered. She was a 2025 Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon and ACEAP Astronomy Ambassador to Chile. Alongside her outreach, she collaborates on research projects investigating interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS and potential Earth-impactors like YR4, participating in observing campaigns at observatories in Hawaii, and frequently gives astronomy talks and public programs throughout the United States.
As a multidisciplinary artist, her work combines astrophysics, natural history, atmospheric phenomena, and scientific imagery through painting, mixed media, music, photography, and mosaic. Her projects have been exhibited internationally and featured by organizations including the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, and New Scientist Live. She was featured on the concept album "The Dogman's Tales" released in 2007 by her band Destruction inc. Her tornado-chasing footage and media has been featured by GirlsWhoChase and CBS.
She speaks English, French, and Spanish, plays guitar, bass, and saz, and spends much of her free time chasing aurorae, storms, eclipses, volcanic eruptions and dark skies around the world.
After studying Music at Paris’s ESCM, and art and performance at Queen Mary University of London, she went on to study astronomy and astrophysics at the Paris Observatory before moving to Los Angeles in 2017. Since then, she has built a multidisciplinary career spanning astronomy research, art and science communication.
Laura-May currently works at Griffith Observatory where she co-hosts and co-produces the monthly science program All Space Considered. She was a 2025 Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon and ACEAP Astronomy Ambassador to Chile. Alongside her outreach, she collaborates on research projects investigating interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS and potential Earth-impactors like YR4, participating in observing campaigns at observatories in Hawaii, and frequently gives astronomy talks and public programs throughout the United States.
As a multidisciplinary artist, her work combines astrophysics, natural history, atmospheric phenomena, and scientific imagery through painting, mixed media, music, photography, and mosaic. Her projects have been exhibited internationally and featured by organizations including the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, and New Scientist Live. She was featured on the concept album "The Dogman's Tales" released in 2007 by her band Destruction inc. Her tornado-chasing footage and media has been featured by GirlsWhoChase and CBS.
She speaks English, French, and Spanish, plays guitar, bass, and saz, and spends much of her free time chasing aurorae, storms, eclipses, volcanic eruptions and dark skies around the world.
©John Burcham Photography for Arizona Highways Magazine
