Laura Michelle Kelly

Infobox actor


caption = Kelly with Nick Winston
birthdate = March 4, 1981
birthplace = England

Laura Michelle Kelly (born March 4, 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.

Biography

Personal life

She is a native of the Isle of Wight, off the South coast of England. Her first ever musical appearance was in Bugsy Malone at Solent Middle School, Cowes, Isle of Wight, as Blousey Brown, under the direction of Mrs. Janey Hawtin.

Kelly is separated from her husband, choreographer Nick Winston, whom she married in 2001. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=News | date=2008-02-09 | publisher= | url =http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/you/article.html?in_article_id=511761&in_page_id=1908 | work =dailymail.co.uk | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-09 | language = ]

Career

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 December 2004 at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End. This followed extensive previews at Bristol Hippodrome a few months earlier. For her role as Mary Poppins, she earned rave reviews. At the 2005 Olivier Awards, Kelly won the Best Actress in a Musical award for this role. 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).

Kelly released her debut single, through EMIs Angel label, for download only on 17 April 2006, "There Was A Time" which 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.

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 31 August 2006 to celebrate Anthony Newley for BBC Radio Two which was broadcast on September 29 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. [ cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/whatson/2708.shtml#prom58 |title=Prom 58 |accessdate=2007-09-02 |work=BBC Proms 2007 ]

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.

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. [cite news | first=Baz | last=Bamigboye | coauthors= | title=Look who's Tolkien | date=2006-12-15 | publisher= | url =http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/bazbamigboye.html?in_article_id=422894&in_page_id=1794 | work =Daily Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-24 | language = ]

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". [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=News | date=2008-02-09 | publisher= | url =http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/you/article.html?in_article_id=511761&in_page_id=1908 | work =www.dailymail.co.uk | pages = | accessdate = 2008-02-09 | language = ] and made her film debut as Lucy Barker in the Tim Burton/DreamWorks film "Sweeney Todd" [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=News | date=2007-02-28 | publisher= | url =http://www.allforlaura.co.uk/AFL2006/News2006.htm | work =AllForLaura.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-24 | language = ]

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.

References

External links

* [http://www.lauramichellekelly.co.uk Laura Michelle Kelly, official website]
* [http://www.allforlaura.co.uk Laura Michelle Kelly, fansite]
*imdb name|id=2267011|name=Laura Michelle Kelly