Jennifer Damiano (born May 12, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 2006 as an ensemble member in the original production of Spring Awakening, and went on to originate the role of Natalie Goodman in the musical Next to Normal, for which she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award at age 17. Her other Broadway roles include Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in 2011 and Jean in the 2016 musical American Psycho, in addition to a number of roles off-Broadway.
Early life Damiano was born in White Plains, New York to Mark and Nancy Damiano. Her father, Mark, owns an amusement company, and her mother Nancy works at Westchester Community College. When she was nine years old, she began taking voice lessons and joined a children's theatre, The Random Farms Kids' Theater, playing parts such as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, the title role in Cinderella, Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical and Marion Paroo in The Music Man. As Damiano began her acting career, she stayed enrolled in her hometown's public high school, where she graduated in 2009.
Career Early career At the age of nine, Damiano made her professional debut in New York City playing Samantha and Josefina in a show based on the American Girl dolls. While continuing to participate in suburban community theater in shows such as Oliver!, Damiano continued to perform professionally, in small professional roles in New York City. Off-Broadway, she appeared in Inner Voices: Solo Voices at the now-defunct Zipper Factory.
2006–2011: Broadway debut and leading roles On December 10, 2006, at the age of 15, she joined the original cast of the musical Spring Awakening on Broadway as an ensemble member and understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Ilse and Thea. She was the youngest performer in the cast. Damiano was originally hired also to understudy Lea Michele in the leading role of Wendla, but she was not legally able to cover the role because she was under 16 and the role requires brief nudity.
She remained in the cast until December 2007, when she began rehearsals for the role of Natalie, the angsty teenage daughter of a woman with manic-depression in the musical Next to Normal. She was cast in the role of Natalie for the show's Off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theater. The show later moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. for an out of town tryout and eventually to Broadway at the Booth Theatre. She was nominated for a 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her performance, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award. She left the production on July 18, 2010 (along with co-stars Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James). She was replaced by original Natalie standby Meghann Fahy.
Damiano appeared on Gossip Girl in the 2008 episode entitled "It's a Wonderful Lie."
Following Next to Normal, Damiano originated the role of Mary Jane Watson in the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway. The show, which began previews on November 28, 2010, and, after a record-setting number of previews, opened officially on June 14, 2011, was originally directed by Julie Taymor and later by Philip William McKinley of The Boy from Oz. After almost a year with the show, Damiano played her final performance on November 6, 2011, and was succeeded by Rebecca Faulkenberry from Nov. 10. Following her departure from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Damiano took part in a variety of readings, workshops, and concert works.
2012–present: Film, return to Broadway, and Off-Broadway theater In 2013, she starred in the acclaimed indie film B-Side, her first movie. Also that year, Damiano joined the Off-Broadway dystopian musical Venice at the Public Theater for a limited run. The cast included Haaz Sleiman, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Uzo Aduba.
On November 9, 2015, it was announced that Damiano would return to Broadway (for the first time in four years) and reunite with Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik and Next to Normal co-star Alice Ripley in the musical adaptation of American Psycho in the role of Jean (as portrayed by Chloë Sevigny in the 2000 feature film of the same name). The new musical began previews on March 24, 2016, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway.
In 2017, Damiano starred in Zack Zadek's musical Deathless at Norma Terris Theater, home of Goodspeed Musicals in Chester, CT. The show was directed by Tina Landau and began performances on June 2, 2017, ending on July 2, 2017. In December 2019, it was announced that Damiano would star alongside Ana Nogueira, Joél Pérez, and Michael Zegen in the world premiere of the screen-to-stage adaptation of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice by The New Group. In early 2022, she took part in the Off-Broadway adaptation of Black No More, also with The New Group.
Accolades Damiano was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Next to Normal'''s out-of-town tryout in D.C. Later, she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical when the show moved to Broadway.
In his review in The New York Times following the 2009 Broadway opening, Ben Brantley observed, "The notion that personality is fragile, always on the edge of decomposition, is exquisitely reflected in Ms. Damiano’s astringent, poignant Natalie". Peter Marks of The Washington Post said she "locates a new depth of adolescent disdain and need".
Year Award Ceremony Category Work Result 2007 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Best Ensemble Spring Awakening 2009 Helen Hayes Awards Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident ProductionNext to Normal Tony Awards Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes2013B-SideApril Simon20154th Man OutTracyEmily & Tim Helayne SpecterSegment: "Betrayal"2018American DresserKate2020The SurrogateRachel
Television Year Title Role Notes2008Gossip GirlJustineEpisode: "It's a Wonderful Lie"2011Late Show with David LettermanMary Jane WatsonEpisode: "Amanda Seyfried/B.J. Novak/Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"2013It Could Be WorseStacy4 episodes
Theater YearProductionRoleLocationCategory2005Oliver!EnsembleWestchester Broadway TheaterRegional2006–2007Spring AwakeningEnsemble (u/s: Anna, Thea, Martha, Ilse)Eugene O'Neill TheatreBroadway2008Inner Voices: Alice UnwrappedAliceThe Zipper FactoryOff-Broadway2008Next to NormalNatalieSecond Stage TheaterOff-Broadway2008Arena StageRegional2009–2010Booth TheatreBroadway2010–2011Spider-Man: Turn off the DarkMary JaneFoxwoods TheatreBroadway2013VeniceWillow TurnerThe Public TheaterOff-Broadway2016American PsychoJeanGerald Schoenfeld TheatreBroadway2017Cruel Intentions: The '90s MusicalKathryn MerteuilLe Poisson Rouge Off-Broadway (pop-up engagement)2017DeathlessHayleyNorma Terris TheatreRegional2020Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceCarolPershing Square Signature CenterOff-Broadway2022Black No MorePershing Square Signature CenterOff-Broadway
Personal life Damiano married actor Michael Zegen in January 2025. The pair had met while starring in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' off-Broadway in 2020. Their daughter, Oona Rose Zegen, was born on January 3, 2026.
References
External links
Jennifer Damiano at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Jennifer Damiano at About the Artists