Laura Benanti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Benanti
Benanti in 2012 Drama League Benefit Gala
Born	Laura Ilene Vidnovic (1979-07-15) July 15, 1979 (age 45) 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 a talented American actress and singer. She is well-known for her amazing performances on Broadway and in many popular TV shows.

Laura first appeared on Broadway in 1998 in The Sound of Music. She later won a special award called the Tony Award for her role as Louise in Gypsy in 2008. She was also 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, Laura has played many different characters. She was Lauren Bennett in Go On (2012–2013) and Sadie Stone in Nashville (2014–2015). She also played Alura and Astra in the superhero series Supergirl (2015–2016). More recently, she appeared as Kiki Hope in Gossip Girl (2021–2023) and Susan Blane in The Gilded Age (2023). Since 2016, she has also been famous for playing First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Early Life and Theatre Dreams

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

As a child, Laura was very serious and loved musical theatre. She was especially interested in the music of Stephen Sondheim. Even though her parents didn't let her audition for professional shows, Laura performed in many high school and community plays. She played roles in shows like Evita, Follies, and Into the Woods. When she was 16, Laura played the main role in her high school's production of Hello, Dolly! and won an award for it. She finished high school in 1997.

Laura's Amazing Career Journey

Starting on Broadway: 1998–2006

In 1998, when Laura was 18, she got her first role on Broadway in The Sound of Music. She started as a nun and later took over the main role of Maria. People were very impressed with her performance.

In 1999, Laura was in the Broadway show Swing!. For this role, she received her first Tony nomination. She also appeared in the musical Wonderful Town in 2000. Laura has recorded songs for many of her Broadway shows.

In 2002, Laura played Cinderella in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. She received another Tony nomination for this role. During one performance, Laura had a serious neck injury. This made it very difficult for her to perform, and she had to leave the show. After surgery and recovery, she returned to Broadway.

Just three weeks after her surgery, Laura began rehearsals for Nine in 2003. She played Claudia, a movie star. She also appeared in several benefit concerts for World AIDS Day. From 2006, she played Julia Sullivan in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer. Besides stage roles, Laura was also on the TV show Starved in 2005. She also appeared in two films, Take the Lead and Falling for Grace, in 2006.

Winning a Tony and TV Roles: 2007–2015

In 2007, Laura played Louise in a special concert production of Gypsy. This show moved to Broadway in 2008, and Laura's performance was highly praised. She won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for this role. She also won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Laura continued to perform on Broadway in plays like Why Torture Is Wrong, And the People Who Love Them (2009) and In the Next Room (2009). In 2010, she was in the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, earning another Tony nomination and winning more awards.

On TV, Laura had a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2011 to 2014. She also played Lauren Bennett on the NBC series Go On (2012–2013). In 2013, she performed as a singer in I Am Harvey Milk and appeared in The Tempest. She also had roles on Royal Pains, Elementary, Nurse Jackie, and The Good Wife. In December 2013, Laura played Elsa Schräder in the TV special The Sound of Music Live!.

In 2014, Laura joined the cast of the ABC series Nashville as country singer Sadie Stone. She sang several songs on the show. In 2015, she joined Supergirl as Alura In-Ze and her twin sister Astra. She also appeared in The Detour and the New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.

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

Recent Work: 2016–Present

In 2016, Laura starred as Amalia Balash in the Broadway revival of She Loves Me. She received another Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for this role.

Since 2016, Laura has become well-known for her funny impersonations of Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In 2017, she returned to Broadway in Steve Martin's play Meteor Shower.

Benanti has portrayed Melania Trump many times on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

From 2018 to 2019, Laura played Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. In 2019, she joined the TV series Younger as Quinn Tyler. Laura released her first solo album in 2020. She has also appeared in recent films like Here Today (2021) and No Hard Feelings (2023).

Laura's Personal Life

Laura Benanti has been married three times. She married Chris Barron in 2005, but they divorced in 2006. She then married Steven Pasquale in 2007, and they divorced in 2013.

On June 12, 2015, she got engaged to Patrick Brown. They married on November 15, 2015. In 2017, they welcomed their daughter, Ella. Their second daughter, Louisa, was born in 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

Laura Benanti has won many awards for her acting and singing. Here are some of her most important awards and nominations:

Discography

Laura Benanti has released her own music and appeared on many cast recordings for her Broadway shows.

Singles

• "I Like Musicals" (2016)

Broadway Recordings

• The Sound of Music (1998 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
• Swing! (1998 Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Into the Woods (2002 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
• Nine (2003 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
• The Wedding Singer (2006 Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2011 Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• She Loves Me (2016 Revival Cast Recording)
• Songs From My Fair Lady (2019 Revival EP Recording)

Studio and Concert Recordings

• The Stephen Schwartz Album – 1999 Studio Recording
• The Maury Yeston Songbook – 2003 Studio Recording
• NEO (New, Emerging... Outstanding!) – 2003 Concert Recording
• You've Got To Be Carefully Taught: The Songs of Sondheim & Hammerstein – 2003 Gay Men's Chorus Of Washington D.C. Recording
• Hair – 2004 Concert Recording
• Wall to Wall Stephen Sondheim – 2006 Concert Recording
• Allegro – 2008 Studio Recording
• A Little Princess – 2010 Studio Recording
• Songs from Amberland: Edie's Reckoning – 2022 Single Recording

Soundtracks

• The Sound of Music Live: Music from the NBC Television Event – 2013 Soundtrack
• The Music of Nashville: Season 3, Volume 1 — 2014 Soundtrack (contributed 3 tracks: "Can't Help My Heart" with Will Chase, "Sad Song" and "Novocaine" with Jonathan Jackson)
• The Music of Nashville: Season 3, Volume 2 – 2015 Soundtrack (contributed 1 track: "Gasoline and Matches" with Connie Britton)

See also

In Spanish: Laura Benanti para niños