*°LAURA MICHELLLE KELLY*°

Laura Michelle Kelly (born 4 March 1981) is an English actress and singer who achieved critical acclaim in the role of Mary Poppins in the musical of the same name.

Her extensive 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 The 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 in Bristol few months earlier. 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.

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 local composer Dick Lee) and was choreographed by Nick Winston.

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 Insidewhich was released on 1 May 2006. The album includes six original numbers and six covers, including 3 numbers which Kelly wrote herself.

In 2006 she returned to the stage performing in A Tribute to Dirty Dancing directed and choreographed by Nick Winston 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 Friday September 29 2006. Kelly also shot her first TV film Nemesis, a Miss Marple drama for ITV1 in which she plays Margaret Lumley. Kelly was the Special Guest for Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on tour during December 2006.

Kelly is playing Galadriel in the musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings which began previews at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in May 2007.

She will appear as Lucy/The Beggar Woman in the upcoming Tim Burton/Dreamworks film Sweeney Todd which is slated for a late 2007 release.A new single "What's It All For?" 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.

Kelly married choreographer Nick Winston when she was 19, after meeting in her first West End musical, Beauty and the Beast.

 

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