Laura Benanti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Benanti
Benanti at the Drama League Benefit Gala in 2012
Born	Laura Ilene Vidnovic (1979-07-15) July 15, 1979 (age 46) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1998–present
Notable credit(s)	Gypsy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Spouse(s)	Chris Barron ​ ​ (m. 2005; div. 2006)​ Steven Pasquale ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2013)​ Patrick Brown ​ ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	2

Laura Ilene Benanti (born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. She is famous for her work on Broadway and on television. Benanti has won a Tony Award, which is one of the highest honors in American theater.

Benanti started her Broadway career in 1998 in a new version of The Sound of Music. She later won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Louise in the 2008 revival of Gypsy. She has also been nominated for Tony Awards for her roles in Swing! (2000), Into the Woods (2002), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010), and She Loves Me (2016).

On television, she played Lauren Bennett in the comedy series Go On and Sadie Stone in the musical drama Nashville. She also played the twin sisters Alura and Astra in the superhero show Supergirl. Since 2016, she has often appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she does a funny impression of Melania Trump.

Early Life and Education

Benanti was born in New York City. Her mother, Linda Wonneberger, was a vocal coach and actress. Her father, Martin Vidnovic, was a Broadway actor and singer. Her parents separated when she was young. She moved to Kinnelon, New Jersey, with her mother and stepfather, Salvatore Benanti. She took his last name.

As a child, Benanti was very interested in musical theater. She said she "came out of the womb as a 40-year-old" because she was so serious about it. She especially loved the music of Stephen Sondheim. This interest made her feel different from other kids her age. She later used this feeling of loneliness to help her play the character of Louise in Gypsy.

Although her parents didn't want her to audition for professional shows, she performed in many high school and community plays. When she was 16, she starred in her high school's production of Hello, Dolly!. For this role, she won a Rising Star Award from the Paper Mill Playhouse. She graduated from Kinnelon High School in 1997.

Career

Broadway Beginnings

When Benanti was 18, she made her Broadway debut in The Sound of Music. At first, she was an understudy for the main character, Maria. An understudy is an actor who learns a role so they can perform if the main actor is unable to. Soon, at age 19, she took over the role of Maria full-time.

In 1999, she starred in the musical Swing! and earned her first Tony Award nomination. In 2002, she played Cinderella in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. This role earned her another Tony nomination. During one performance, she fell and seriously injured her neck. The injury was not diagnosed correctly at first, and she had to miss many shows. She later had successful surgery to fix the problem.

Three weeks after her surgery, she returned to Broadway in the musical Nine, starring alongside Antonio Banderas.

Winning a Tony Award

Benanti with Derek Hough and Jared Grimes at the Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular in 2015

In 2008, Benanti starred as Louise in the musical Gypsy with co-star Patti LuPone. Her performance was highly praised by critics. The New York Times called it "the performance of her career." For this role, she won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

After her big win, she continued to work in many plays and musicals. She appeared in In the Next Room (or The ... Play) in 2009. In 2010, she was in the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which earned her another Tony nomination.

Television and Recent Roles

Benanti has portrayed Melania Trump (pictured) in skits on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Benanti has also had a successful career in television. From 2012 to 2013, she starred in the NBC show Go On. She had a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and played country singer Sadie Stone in Nashville.

In 2015, she joined the cast of the TV series Supergirl. She played two characters: Alura, Supergirl's mother, and Astra, Alura's evil twin sister.

In 2016, she returned to Broadway in She Loves Me. Her performance as Amalia Balash earned her a fifth Tony Award nomination. That same year, she began impersonating Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which became very popular.

More recently, she starred in the Broadway play Meteor Shower with Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key. In 2018, she took on the famous role of Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. She has also appeared in the TV shows Younger and The Gilded Age.

Personal Life

Benanti married Chris Barron, the singer for the band Spin Doctors, in 2005. They separated later that year. In 2007, she married actor Steven Pasquale. They were married until 2013.

In 2015, Benanti married Patrick Brown. They have two daughters, Ella (born in 2017) and Louisa (born in 2022). In 2023, Benanti shared that she had experienced a pregnancy loss while performing on a cruise ship. She said that she wanted to be open about her experience to help others who have gone through similar challenges.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Laura Benanti para niños