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Frances Ruffelle | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frances Jane Ruffelle (1965-08-29)29 August 1965 (age 60) Redbridge, London, England |
| Other names | Frankie Ruff |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingEliza Doolittle |
| Parent(s) | Sylvia Young Norman Ruffell |
| Website | francesruffelle |
Frances Ruffelle (born 29 August 1965) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She won aTony Award in 1987, and represented theUnited Kingdom in the1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)", finishing 10th. The song became a UK Top 30 hit.
In 1984, Ruffelle starred as Dinah in the original West End production ofStarlight Express. From 1985, she was the originalÉponine in the first English-language productions ofLes Misérables in the West End and on Broadway, winning the 1987Tony Award forBest Featured Actress in a Musical. Other stage roles include Yonah inChildren of Eden (1991), Roxie Hart inChicago (2003–04, 2007), the title role inPiaf (2013), Bella inThe A–Z of Mrs P (2014), and Queenie inThe Wild Party. Her albums includeFragile (1994),Frances Ruffelle (1998),Showgirl (2004),Imperfectly Me (2010), andI Say Yeh-Yeh (2015).
As well as her later stage work, Ruffelle has also gained success on the screen. Her film credits include roles inThe Wildcats of St Trinian's (1980),P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982),Secrets & Lies (1996),The Road to Ithaca (1999),Les Misérables (2012),Devil's Tower (2014), andLong Forgotten Fields (2014).
Ruffelle's first West End appearance was as Louisa inTerence Rattigan'sThe Sleeping Prince. In 1984, she took on the principal role ofDinah inAndrew Lloyd Webber'sStarlight Express in the original London cast. A year later, she leftStarlight and joined the original London cast ofLes Misérables as Éponine. Though virtually an unknown outside of the West End, she andColm Wilkinson were invited to reprise their roles for the Broadway launch. Ruffelle won multiple awards (including the Tony) for her role. She returned to the role she originated in 1997 in the West End of London. Her subsequent work on stage included theIan Dury musicalApples in 1989 andStephen Schwartz'sChildren of Eden in 1990, featuring on the cast albums of both. She has also starred as the female leadRoxie Hart inChicago, as well as appearing inLucky Stiff.
The creative team behindLes Misérables,Claude-Michel Schönberg andAlain Boublil, also used Ruffelle's vocals as Kim while writingMiss Saigon. She also workshopped Andrew Lloyd Webber'sSunset Boulevard andWhistle Down the Wind.
Having previously played Roxie Hart in Chicago in the West End from September 2003 to June 2004, Ruffelle reprised the role for the show's 10th anniversary in 2007 and stayed with the production through into 2008. Her return to Chicago marked the first time she had performed in the show at the Cambridge Theatre, having only appeared in it when it was on at the Adelphi Theatre.
Ruffelle was set to appear in a revival of theSherman Brothers musicalOver Here! in January 2007, alongsideDonna McKechnie,Diane Langton andRichard Fleeshman, however it was postponed, and was scheduled to open inToronto in 2009.
In 2006, she performed in a musical based on the works ofStephen Schwartz,Schwartz Stories. In March 2008, she commenced a limited five-week season in the musical,Make Me A Song. She played the title role inMathilde at theEdinburgh festival in 2008.
Ruffelle appeared as series regular Dawn Daniel-Spears in Sky'sDream Team, and series regular Kitty inHeadless, for which she also composed the music.
Other television credits include playing Olivia in Warner Bros'New Adventures of Robin Hood, Denise in Alan Bennett'sObjects of Affection for the BBC and Susan inSWALK forThames Television. She has starred inThe Bill (Thames Television),Strangers (ITV),The Equaliser (Universal) andThe Hard Word (Thames Television).
In 1994, Ruffelle was chosen to represent the United Kingdom at theEurovision Song Contest. She sang all eight songs at the pre-selection, and British televoters chose "Lonely Symphony" to represent the UK, by televoting. It went on to come in 10th at the contest inDublin. When asked about her motivations for joining the competition, she jokingly replied that since none of the four constituent nations of the UK (Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland) had qualified for that year's football World Cup finals, it was her responsibility to try to restore some national pride.
In 2010, she appeared in the 25th Anniversary Concert ofLes Misérables at theO2 Arena as part of the original London cast and in 2011 starred as Fastrada at the Menier Theatre's production ofPippin.
She opened in the title role of Piaf in Pam Gems'Piaf in February 2013 and received a UK Theatre award nomination for Best Actor and in 2014 created the role of Bella inThe A–Z of Mrs P atSouthwark Playhouse. Frances also performs her critically acclaimed solo shows,Paris Original andBeneath the Dress, in London and New York.
In 2015, Ruffelle played the role of Naomi Green in theITV sitcomBirds of a Feather. She appeared in three episodes.
"Lonely Symphony" was released as a single in the UK, as well as in other countries, and also appeared on her first solo album,Fragile. It reached number 25 in theUK Singles Chart in April 1994.[1]
Ruffelle's second album,Frances Ruffelle, came out in 1998, on the small Dress Circle label. It was a change in direction, featuring stripped-down arrangements of mostly musical theatre songs, as well as a couple of classics, original songs and covers. In 2004, she releasedShowgirl on her own label, a return to fuller arrangements, but far from a pop sound. Ruffelle also collaborated with Sam Bonner in the group, paTala, making an album calledPurify, featuring "a fusion of traditional Sanskrit chants with unique arrangements of contemporary Western beats". A new solo album,Imperfectly Me, was released in September 2010.[2]
Ruffelle was born in Redbridge district ofIlford inLondon, England, UK. Her father is a phone company engineer and manager.[3] Her mother wasSylvia Young, the founder of the prestigioustheatre school at which she trained.
Ruffelle married directorJohn Caird in 1990. They have two children: a daughter,Eliza Doolittle, and a son Nathaniel. They divorced in 1993.
| Preceded by | UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 | Succeeded by |
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