Lara arrived in Düsseldorf in order to visit her alleged aunt, Elisabeth Ryan, during her mother Irene's health problems. Thinking she'll be living only temporarily with Elisabeth and her partner, Arno Brandner, Lara befriended Alexa Seifert and developed unexpected feelings for the ambitious singer Christian Toppe. Shortly afterwards, Irene died and Lara was forced to stary with Elisabeth and Arno, which raised new problems for the Brandner family, as Lara was unable to accept her mother's death. However, she didn't know that Irene wasn't her mother due to a secret kept from her for her entire life. Lara warmed up to her cousin Nina Ryan, not even suspecting Nina's true role in her life. As time goes by, Lara figured out Elisabeth's secret, who pretended to be her mother in order to protect Nina. Lara managed to accept the situation and allowed Nina to form a bond as sisters, but later, Elisabeth was forced to reveal to Nina the truth: Nina was Lara's mother, having given birth to her at the age of thirteen and having developed amnesia as the birth's result. As Lara was confronted with the truth, she was unable to forgive Nina or Elisabeth at first, but when Nina decided to leave Germany for Greece, Lara forgave them both and shared an emotional farewell with Nina. After Nina's exit, Lara and Christian entered into a relationship which was stressed under the circumstances of Christian's singing career, as his manager forced him to pretend being single in publicity. Lara was deeply hurt, but gave Christian another chance - only to find him in bed with a groupie. Lara couldn't forgive Christian and ended their relationship. After Christian left town, Lara concentrated on school and her friendships with Alexa and Franziska von Beyenbach. Alexa's new roommate Andi Fritzsche fell in love with Lara despite their previous aversion and even kissed her during a storm, but then decided to seek comfort with Franziska, after Lara rejected his advances. Later, Nina returned and confronted Lara with her offer to start a new life in Greece. Lara was hesitant at first, not wanting to give up her friendships in Düsseldorf, but then accepted Nina's offer and left town for Greece in May 2002. In 2014, Lara returned to Düsseldorf to visit her grandmother Elisabeth, who meanwhile lived at Castle Königsbrunn, being the widow of Ludwig von Lahnstein. Seeking to complete her law studies, Lara stayed in Düsseldorf and settled in the WG, befriending Emilio Sanchez and reconnecting with Andi. As Emilio's wife Kim Wolf suspected Emilio of attempted murder of Per Mertens, Lara tried to prove Emilio's innocence and finally succeeded. Kim and Emilio's marriage resulted in a divorce, though, and Lara caught herself hoping for a relationship with Emilio. However, Lara realized Emilio would never love any woman but Kim and decided to return to Greece in January 2015.
