Annaleigh Ashford (née Swanson; born June 25, 1985) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and producer. Her early roles on Broadway include in the musicals Wicked (2007), Legally Blonde (2007), and Hair (2010). She received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Essie Carmichael in You Can't Take It with You (2014–2015). Her other Tony-nominated roles are Lauren in Kinky Boots (2013) and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023). She also starred in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George (2017).
She released her debut album Lost in the Stars: Live at 54 Below in 2015. Ashford's notable film and television credits include Showtime period drama Masters of Sex (2013–2016), the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable (2019), the HBO film Bad Education (2019), the FX drama Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021) and the CBS sitcom B Positive (2020–2022). She earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Irene in the Hulu limited series Welcome to Chippendales (2022). She received her first Grammy nomination in the category Best Musical Theater Album for the 2023 Broadway revival cast recording of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Early life
Ashford was born on June 25, the daughter of Holli Swanson, an elementary school gym teacher, and Chris Swanson, a small-business owner. She began practicing dance at Kit Andrée's Dance and Performing Arts Center in the second grade. She acted and sang in numerous performances and competitions in her hometown. Ashford's professional career began at age nine in Denver, when she was cast as Tina Denmark, the lead in the musical Ruthless!. At fourteen, she was profiled as "The Teen to Watch" by the Rocky Mountain News. Other Denver credits include appearing in the ensemble of The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and Paint Your Wagon, as well as in Little Women as Amy March, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella as Ella, Grease as Sandy Dumbrowski, and Anything Goes as Reno Sweeney. She graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in three years, at the age of 16, and then attended Marymount Manhattan College, where she earned a degree in theatre in another three years, at the age of 19. While attending Marymount Manhattan College, Ashford played Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Emma in Tell Me on a Sunday.
Career
2004–2009: Early roles and Broadway debut
In 2004, while hanging around in New York City's Lower East Side club scene, Ashford met nightlife personality Lady Starlight, a local rock DJ and performance artist. Lady Starlight invited Ashford to dance at her 1970s glitter rock party "Lady Starlight's English Disco" and christened her Hollywood Starr. Ashford performed in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's Feeling Electric as Natalie at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2005.
Soon after graduating from college, Ashford got her big break performing as one of Glinda's friends, Pfanne, and understudying the role of Glinda on the first national tour of Wicked. She joined the cast in December 2005 and left in September 2006. She then originated the role of Margot in Legally Blonde: The Musical, her Broadway debut. She understudied the lead role of Elle Woods, but only played it once. She was featured on the original cast recording and appeared in the MTV televised airing. Ashford left the show in September 2007. In July 2007, she worked on a musical adaptation of Catch Me If You Can as Brenda Strong. She previously did a staged reading for the project under the director of Hairspray, Jack O'Brien.
Ashford then returned to Wicked, this time playing the lead role of Glinda in the Broadway production. She replaced Kendra Kassebaum on October 9, 2007. She departed the company on May 11, 2008, when Kassebaum returned to the role, and transferred to the Chicago production, replacing Kate Fahrner as Glinda on June 3, 2008. She played her final performance as Glinda on January 25, 2009, when the Chicago production closed. In 2008, she made her film debut with a small part in Sex and the City: The Movie playing a "spoiled label queen". That same year she also appeared in the Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married starring Anne Hathaway. Ashford played a counter girl.
In August 2008, Ashford played Wednesday Addams in the staged reading for musical adaptation of The Addams Family with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, but was later replaced by Krysta Rodriguez. Other readings include Bring It On: The Musical as Campbell, The Black Suits, C'mon Get Happy, Pal Joey, and a gender-bent version of Stephen Sondheim's Company. In 2009, it was announced that Ashford would be one of the principal characters and singers in the new vaudeville styled Cirque du Soleil show, Banana Shpeel. However, it was later announced that Ashford and her colleague Michael Longoria were no longer in the cast of the show. Publicists announced that it was a creative decision to remove large portions of dialogue from the show, therefore making their characters non-existent. Ashford was originally slated to stay in the production from its premiere in Chicago until sometime in 2010.
2010–2013: Established career
Ashford starred as Jeanie in the Broadway revival of Hair. She succeeded Kacie Sheik in the role from March 9, 2010, through June 27, 2010, when the production closed. In September 2010, Ashford made her directorial debut at Birdland Jazz Club, directing fellow Hair alum Jay Armstrong Johnson in his solo concert debut. The concert was met with rave reviews, including a notice for Ashford's "thoughtfully put together" directorial style. In September 2010, Ashford played Veronica Sawyer in a concert version of the new musical Heathers in New York City. The role was later played by Barrett Wilbert Weed in the 2014 off-Broadway premiere. In November 2010, Ashford was part of a reading of the musical Carrie.
In January 2012, Ashford ended her run playing Maureen Johnson in the Off-Broadway revival of Rent, which began July 14, 2011 and closed on September 9, 2012. Emma Hunton replaced Ashford as Maureen on January 13, 2012. In February 2012, Ashford made a cameo on Smash as Lisa McMann and returned for another short appearance in 2013 before the show's cancellation. From June 27 to August 19, 2012, she appeared in the Off-Broadway musical Dogfight, based on the 1991 film of the same name, playing a toothless hooker named Marcy. The role was played in the film by Elizabeth Daily. Ashford also performed on the original cast recording of the musical. In 2013, Ashford provided the voice of a troll in Frozen. She has a short line greeting Kristoff and sings the second female solo after Maia Wilson in the song "Fixer Upper" for the soundtrack.
In 2013, after appearing in the Chicago try-outs, Ashford reprised her role as Lauren in the Broadway production of Kinky Boots, a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper.
Variety described Ashford's performance as "sensational", and noted that she was "the only one in the entire cast, by the way, to manage a convincingly impenetrable working-class English accent." For this role, Ashford received nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Ashford left her role in Kinky Boots on March 2, 2014. That same year, Ashford appeared in the recurring role of young sex worker Betty DiMello in season one of the Showtime series Masters of Sex. Her part was upgraded from a recurring to regular for Season 2.
2014–2015: Debut album
On January 14, 2014, Ashford released her first single, "Another Time (Andrew's Song)", with musical director Will Van Dyke on iTunes. In addition to writing music and lyrics, Van Dyke is the featured pianist on the single. The track also features Michael Aarons on guitar, Steve Gilewski on bass, Sammy Merendino on drums, Philip Payton on violin/viola, and Allison…