Kelli O'Hara | |
|---|---|
 O'Hara at theTony Awards in 2021 | |
| Born | (1976-04-16)April 16, 1976 (age 48) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma City University (BM) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Kelli Christine O'Hara (born April 16, 1976)[1] is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on theBroadway andopera stages.
An eight-timeTony Award nominee, O'Hara won theTony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance asAnna Leonowens in theLincoln Center Theater revival ofThe King and I at the 69th Tony Awards in 2015.[2] She also received Tony nominations for her performances inThe Light in the Piazza (2005),The Pajama Game (2006),South Pacific (2008),Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012),The Bridges of Madison County (2014),Kiss Me, Kate (2019), andDays of Wine and Roses (2024).
O'Hara received theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical in 2024 forDays of Wine and Roses. She was nominated for theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Anna Leonowens in theWest End revival ofThe King and I at the2019 Laurence Olivier Awards.
O'Hara made her debut atThe Metropolitan Opera in a 2014 production ofFranz Lehár'sThe Merry Widow. In 2018, she played the role of Despina in the Met Opera's production ofMozart'sCosi fan tutte. In 2022, she returned to the Met, starring as Laura Brown inKevin Puts'The Hours, a role she and co-starsRenee Fleming andJoyce DiDonato reprised for eight performance in May 2024.
She has also played roles in television series, such asMasters of Sex,13 Reasons Why, andThe Gilded Age, receiving a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her starring role in the 2017 web drama seriesThe Accidental Wolf at the70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2018.
Kelli O'Hara was born inTulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up inElk City, Oklahoma in an Irish American family.[3][4][5] She graduated from Deer Creek High School and also attendedOklahoma City University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in music in vocal performance/opera. O'Hara studied voice withFlorence Birdwell, who also taughtKristin Chenoweth four years earlier. O'Hara and Chenoweth are both alumnae of theGamma Phi Beta sorority.
One of O'Hara's earliest professional roles was in a U.S. national tour of the musicalJekyll & Hyde.[4] She went on to play the role of Young Hattie Walker in the 2001Broadway revival ofFollies, and then played the role of Young Phyllis Rogers Stone.[6] She next appeared in the 2002 Broadway production ofSweet Smell of Success as Susan Hunsecker.[7] In 2003 she played Albertine in the Off-BroadwayPlaywrights Horizons production of the musicalMy Life with Albertine,[8] and, in 2004,Lucy Westenra in the Broadway production ofDracula, the Musical.[9]
She starred as Clara Johnson in the 2005 Broadway production ofThe Light in the Piazza atLincoln Center'sVivian Beaumont Theatre.[10] She had appeared in a workshop of the musical at the Theatre Lab atSundance, and in tryouts in Seattle and Chicago, as the character of Franca Naccarelli.[11] She received a 2005Tony Award nomination forBest Featured Actress in a Musical at the59th Tony Awards.[12] O'Hara has been nominated for, or won, a Tony Award for every subsequent role she has played on Broadway.[13] In her next Broadway musical, she played Babe Williams in the 2006 revival ofThe Pajama Game, for which she was nominated forBest Leading Actress in a Musical at the60th Tony Awards. For this performance,New York Times reviewerBen Brantley wrote that O'Hara "rockets past the promisingingénue status she attained withLight in the Piazza".[14]
In 2007, O'Hara played the role of Dot/Marie in the Los AngelesReprise! concert staging ofSunday in the Park with George[15] andEliza Doolittle in theNew York Philharmonic's semi-staged production ofMy Fair Lady atAvery Fisher Hall.[16] She was the voice of producer Beth Totenbag onPBS' 2008 animated seriesClick and Clack's As the Wrench Turns.[citation needed] From 2008 to 2010, O'Hara starred as Nellie Forbush in the Broadway revival ofSouth Pacific atLincoln Center'sVivian Beaumont Theater,[17] for which she was nominated for her third Tony Award at the62nd Tony Awards.[18] She took maternity leave in March 2009 and returned to the musical in October 2009.[19][20]
O'Hara played the role of Ella Peterson in the 2010New York City CenterEncores! concert presentation ofBells Are Ringing.[21] She played the role of Ellen in the filmSex and the City 2 (2010), and in 2011 she appeared in "Mercy", the first episode of thesecond season of theCBS showBlue Bloods.[22][23] Also in 2011, she played the role of Amalia Balash in a benefit concert ofShe Loves Me, presented by theRoundabout Theater Company, in honor of the company's 20th anniversary.Scott Ellis directed, and the musical director wasPaul Gemignani.[24] She had performed one of the best known songs from the show, "Will He Like Me?", the previous evening atKennedy Center in honor ofBarbara Cook.[25]
She starred on Broadway as Billie Bendix inNice Work If You Can Get It from April 2012 to March 2013 and received her fourth Tony Award nomination at the66th Tony Awards.[26] In 2012, at the New Year's Eve concert, "CelebratingMarvin Hamlisch", at Lincoln Center, she sang "At the Ballet", fromA Chorus Line, along withAudra McDonald andMegan Hilty.[27] In 2013, she played the lead character of Julie Jordan in the staged concert ofCarousel presented by the New York Philharmonic atAvery Fisher Hall.[28] From January to May 2014, she starred as Francesca Johnson in the Broadway musicalThe Bridges of Madison County, for which she received her fifth Tony Award nomination at the68th Tony Awards.[29] Elyse Sommer, aCurtainUp.com reviewer, noted O'Hara's "superb vocal chops" and her "exquisite" duets with co-starSteven Pasquale.[30] She played Mrs. Darling in the 2014NBC telecastPeter Pan Live!.[31] She sang two concerts, titled "Kelli and Matthew: Home for the Holidays", in December 2014 atCarnegie Hall withMatthew Morrison and theNew York Pops.[32] On December 31, 2014, O'Hara made her operatic debut atThe Metropolitan Opera as Valencienne Zeta inFranz Lehár'sThe Merry Widow, alongsideRenee Fleming in the title role of Hanna Glawari.[33]
O'Hara returned to Lincoln Center Theatre to star asAnna Leonowens in the Broadway revival ofThe King and I oppositeKen Watanabe asKing Mongkut. The production began previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in March 2015 and opened in April 2015. This role won O'Hara her first Tony Award at the69th Tony Awards. O'Hara's final performance as Anna was in April 2016.[34] She gave her debut solo concert atCarnegie Hall in October 2016[35] and guest-starred as the recurring character Dody Oliver on thefourth season ofMasters of Sex.[36] She played Fiona MacLaren in theEncores! production ofBrigadoon at New York City Center in November 2017.[37] Jeremy Gerard ofDeadline Hollywood called O'Hara's performance "luminous", writing: "O’Hara is impossibly beautiful, vocally and in conveying Fiona’s romantic determination and heartbreak."[38] In 2017, she starred as Kate Bonner in the first season of the web drama seriesThe Accidental Wolf,[39] earning a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series at the70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[40] O'Hara appeared in the second season of13 Reasons Why as Jackie, an anti-bullying advocate.[41] The same year at the Metropolitan Opera, she sang the role of Despina inCosì fan tutte.[4][42] She reprised her role inThe King and I at theWest End'sLondon Palladium for a limited run from June to September 2018.[43]
She returned to Broadway in February 2019 in a revival ofKiss Me, Kate atStudio 54, as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine Minola. The production was directed byScott Ellis and choreographed byWarren Carlyle. The revival was produced by theRoundabout Theatre Company, which had produced a benefit concert of the show with O'Hara, Ellis, and Carlyle in 2016. O'Hara received her seventh Tony Award nomination for the revival at the73rd Tony Awards.[44][45] In a 2022 interview withTheatermania, she discussed working on three projects at once:HBO's costume dramaThe Gilded Age, fromDownton Abbey creatorJulian Fellowes; a new season ofThe Accidental Wolf, in a role that earned her a 2018Emmy nomination, as a woman who becomes embroiled in a scandal after receiving a phone call from a stranger being murdered; and a role as Laura Brown inthe operatic adaptation ofMichael Cunningham's novelThe Hours. She said "I love the fact that you have these things at the same time, because I don't ever want to be put in one box. I couldn't be happier or more challenged to have these three things happening at once."[46]
In May 2023, O'Hara originated the role of Kirsten Arnesen in themusical adaptation ofDays of Wine and RosesOff-Broadway at theLinda Gross Theater. In September 2023, it was announced thatDays of Wine and Roses would transfer to Broadway'sStudio 54 with O'Hara attached.[47] Upon the show's January 2024 opening, a review inNew York magazine noted: "O’Hara sings all but four of the play’s songs, and her voice is the kind of instrument that sends people scrabbling for metaphors. It’s a prism, an alpine stream, aGolden Snitch — clear, shimmering and darting, endlessly agile and controlled. She sings likeGinger Rogers dances."[48] The show, originally a limited run set to run until April 28th, closed early on March 31st and garnered O'Hara her eighth Tony nomination at the77th Tony Awards.[49]
O'Hara is married to Greg Naughton ofThe Sweet Remains, son of actorJames Naughton and nephew of actorDavid Naughton. Their first child, Owen James, was born in 2009.[50] Their daughter, Charlotte, was born in 2013.[51]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Dying Gaul | Liz | |
| 2007 | The Key to Reserva | Grace Thornberry | Short film |
| 2009 | Clear Blue Tuesday | Anonymous Woman | |
| 2010 | The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! | Singer | |
| 2010 | Sex and the City 2 | Ellen | |
| 2018 | The Independents | Kelly | |
| 2020 | All the Bright Places | Sheryl Markey |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Jekyll & Hyde: Direct from Broadway | Kate | Television film |
| 2007 | All My Children | Leslie | 2 episodes |
| Numb3rs | Rachel Lawton | Episode: "Democracy" | |
| American Experience | Maria Reynolds | Episode: "Alexander Hamilton" | |
| 2008 | Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns | Beth | 2 episodes |
| 2010–2013 | Live From Lincoln Center | Julie Jordan/Ensign Nellie Forbush | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2021 | Blue Bloods | Lisa Farragaut | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Peter Pan Live! | Mrs. Darling | Television film |
| 2015–2018 | Great Performances at the Met | Despina/Valancienne Zeta | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Masters of Sex | Dody | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | The Good Fight | Deirdre Kresteva | Episode: "Stoppable: Requiem for an Airdate" |
| 2018 | 13 Reasons Why | Jackie | 10 episodes |
| 2022–present | The Gilded Age | Aurora Fane | Main role (17 episodes) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Submissions Only | Anna Grace | Episode: "Having Foresight" |
| 2020–2022 | The Accidental Wolf | Katie | 10 episodes |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | The Light in the Piazza | Nominated |
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2006 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | The Pajama Game | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | South Pacific | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Nice Work If You Can Get It | Nominated |
| Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | The Bridges of Madison County | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | The King and I | Won |
| Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | The Accidental Wolf | Nominated |
| Evening Standard Theatre Award[56][57] | Best Musical Performance | The King and I | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Laurence Olivier Award[58] | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | |
| Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Kiss Me, Kate | Nominated | |
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | ||
| Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre | Honoree | |||
| 2023 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Gilded Age | Nominated |
| 2024 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Days of Wine and Roses | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Won | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical | Won | ||
| Broadway.com Audience Awards | Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2025 | Grammy Award | Best Opera Recording | The Hours | Nominated |
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