Born July 15, 1979, Laura Benanti found success in the realm of musical theater before landing the part of Billie Frasier on Starved. She put her stage skills to use in the dance film Take the Lead. In 2007, she landed the role of Beth on the drama Eli Stone. She recorded an album of duets with Steven Pasquale, her co-star from a production of The Secret Garden. 2011 proved an especially productive year for Benanti, with prominent television roles in both the period NBC drama The Playboy Club and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit helping to boost her profile, and introduce her to a whole new legion of potential fans. She played the female lead in the one-season run of Go On, opposite Matthew Perry, and continued her TV work with recurring roles on Nurse Jackie, Nashville and playing twins on Supergirl.
Laura Benanti
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- Was inspired to become an actress at the age of 3 by a video of a Snow White play that a friend of her mother's was in.
- Says she was something of an "ugly duckling" while growing up.
- Studies voice with her mother, Linda, a former Broadway performer.
- Began her Broadway career at 18 when she was cast as the Maria understudy in The Sound of Music; she took over the role a year later when original star Rebecca Luker left the show.
- Fractured her neck in a pratfall during a 2002 production of Into the Woods; the injury went undiagnosed for nine months.
- Enjoys songwriting.