Celebrate Laura Benanti's Birthday With a Look Back at Her Stage Career

Tony Award winner Laura Benanti celebrates her birthday July 15.

Benanti made her Broadway debut in the 1998 revival of The Sound Of Music as the understudy for Maria before assuming the role full time. Throughout the course of her career, she has starred in Nine, The Wedding Singer, In the Next Room, and more, receiving Tony Award nominations for her work in Swing!, Into the Woods, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and She Loves Me and winning the Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony for her performance in Gypsy. She was last seen on Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in Lincoln Center Theater's Tony nominated production of My Fair Lady.

In addition to her stage career, Benanti has appeared on screen on TV shows such as The Playboy Club, Nashville, Supergirl, and TBS' The Detour, and Younger. In 2013, her television work intersected with her theatre roots in The Sound Of Music Live!, where she delivered an acclaimed performance as Elsa Schräder.

From Gypsy to Eliza: Celebrating the Career of Laura Benanti

Laura Benanti_Tony Awards Crop_HR — From Gypsy to Eliza: Celebrating the Career of Laura Benanti

46 PHOTOS

Laura Benanti and Richard Chamberlain in <i>The Sound of Music</i> — Laura Benanti and Richard Chamberlain in *The Sound of Music*

Laura Benanti in <i>The Sound of Music</i> — Laura Benanti in *The Sound of Music*

Laura Benanti in <i>Into the Woods</i> — Laura Benanti in *Into the Woods*

The_Wedding_Singer_5th_Avenue_Theatre_Production_Photos_2006_Stephen_Lynch_Laura_Benanti_HR — Stephen Lynch and Laura Benanti in *The Wedding Singer*

Laura Benanti in <i>The Wedding Singer</i> — Laura Benanti in *The Wedding Singer*

Gypsy_Broadway_Production_Photos_2017_Boyd_Gaines_Laura_Benanti_Patti_LuPone_HR — Boyd Gaines, Laura Benanti, and Patti LuPone in *Gypsy*

Joan Marcus

Laura Benanti in <i>Gypsy</i> — Laura Benanti in *Gypsy*

Kristine Nielsen and Laura Benanti in <i>Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them</i> — Kristine Nielsen and Laura Benanti in *Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them*

Joan Marcus

In_The_Next_Room_Broadway_Production_Photos_2017_Michael_Cerveris_Laura_Benanti_HR — Michael Cerveris and Laura Benanti in *In the Next Room*

In_The_Next_Room_Broadway_Production_Photos_2009_Quincy_Tyler_Bernstine_Laura_Benanti_HR — Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Laura Benanti in *In the Next Room*

In_The_Next_Room_Broadway_Production_Photos_2009_Laura_Benanti_HR — Laura Benanti in *In the Next Room*

Laura Benanti in <i>Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown</i> — Laura Benanti in *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown*

Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Laura Benanti and Justin Guarini in <i>Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown</i> — Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Laura Benanti and Justin Guarini in *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown*

Laura Benanti on NBC's "The Playboy Club"

Laura_Benanti_Tony_Awards_2013_HR — Laura Benanti performs at the 2013 Tony Awards

Laura Benanti and Christian Borle rehearse "The Sound of Music Live!"

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