| Laura Michelle Kelly | |
 Kelly with Nick Winston |
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| Born | 4 March 1981 Isle of Wight, England |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
Laura Michelle Kelly (born 4 March 1981) is an Olivier Award-winning English actress and singer who achieved critical acclaim in the role of Mary Poppins in the musical of the same name.
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Career
Musical theatre
Kelly's West End musical credits include Beauty and the Beast, Whistle Down The Wind as Swallow (2000), Les Miserables as Eponine at The Palace Theatre (2001), Mamma Mia! as Sophie at Prince Edward Theatre (2002), My Fair Lady as Eliza at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (2003). She made her Broadway debut in a new production of Fiddler on the Roof as Hodel (2004) with Alfred Molina.
Mary Poppins premiered in September 2004 at the Bristol Hippodrome, followed, in December, with its arrival in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre. For her role as Mary Poppins, Kelly earned rave reviews. At the 2005 Olivier Awards, she won the Best Actress in a Musical award. She left Mary Poppins on 29 October 2005 after more than 400 performances and was succeeded by Scarlett Strallen. Kelly then went to Singapore to star in a revival of A Twist of Fate produced by the Singapore Repertory Company. It also starred Anthony Drewe (who co-wrote the music with Singaporean composer Dick Lee).
In 2006 she returned to the stage performing in A Tribute to Dirty Dancing at Kenwood House and Marble Hill in London. Kelly and Michael Ball performed at the Hackney Empire on Thursday 1 August 2006 to celebrate Anthony Newley for BBC Radio Two which was broadcast on 29 September 2006. Kelly was the Special Guest for Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on tour during December 2006. On 27 August 2007, Kelly made her BBC Proms debut, performing "The Prayer" from the film Quest for Camelot alongside Michael Ball.[1]
From May 2007 until 4 February 2008, Kelly played the role of Galadriel in the London production of The Lord of the Rings stage production, playing at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to critical acclaim.[2]
She plays the dual role of a nun and former Coronation Street actor Johnny Briggs's trophy wife in an ITV1 production of Agatha Christie's Nemesis.[3] and made her film debut as Lucy Barker in the Tim Burton/DreamWorks film Sweeney Todd[4]
She appeared alongside Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum in David Mamet's play Speed-the-Plow at London's Old Vic theatre from 1 February to 26 April 2008 and at the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen, Germany, in May 2008.
Recording artist
Kelly released her debut single, "There Was A Time", through EMIs Angel label for download only on 17 April 2006. The single enjoyed Record of the Week status on BBC Radio 2. This single is from her debut solo album, The Storm Inside which was released on 1 May 2006. The album includes six original songs and six covers, including three songs which Kelly wrote herself.
A new single, "What's It All For?" (written by singer Judie Tzuke) was released as a digital download on March 5. It will be followed by the release of her album, also titled What's It All For? with the three new tracks and a selection of others from "The Storm Inside" which was released in 2006.
Personal life
She is a native of the Isle of Wight, off the South coast of England. Her first musical appearance was in Bugsy Malone at Solent Middle School, Cowes, Isle of Wight, as Blousey Brown.
Kelly is divorced from choreographer Nick Winston, whom she married in 2001.[5]
References
- ^ "Prom 58". BBC Proms 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/whatson/2708.shtml#prom58. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Bamigboye, Baz (2006-12-15). "Look who's Tolkien". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/bazbamigboye.html?in_article_id=422894&in_page_id=1794. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ "News". Daily Mail. 2008-02-09. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/you/article.html?in_article_id=511761&in_page_id=1908. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ "News". AllForLaura.com. 2007-02-28. http://www.allforlaura.co.uk/AFL2006/News2006.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ "News". Daily Mail. 2008-02-09. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/you/article.html?in_article_id=511761&in_page_id=1908. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
External links
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