Kelli Christine O'Hara (born April 16, 1976)Hernandez, Ernio. "Playbill.com's Cue & A: Kelli O'Hara", Playbill, June 10, 2008, accessed July 13, 2016 is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages. She has received a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for three Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. She was honored with the Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre in 2019.
O'Hara portrayed Anna Leonowens in the revival of The King and I for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2015. She reprised her role in the West End for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2019. She was Tony-nominated for her performances in The Light in the Piazza (2005), The Pajama Game (2006), South Pacific (2008), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), The Bridges of Madison County (2014), Kiss Me, Kate (2019), Days of Wine and Roses (2024), and Fallen Angels (2026).
O'Hara made her debut at The Metropolitan Opera in a 2014 production of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow. In 2018, she played the role of Despina in the Met Opera's production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. In 2022, she returned to the Met, starring as Laura Brown in Kevin Puts' The Hours, a role she and co-stars Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato reprised for eight performances in May 2024.
She has also played roles in television series, such as Masters of Sex, 13 Reasons Why, and The Gilded Age, receiving a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her starring role in the 2017 web drama series The Accidental Wolf at the 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2018.
Early life and education Kelli O'Hara was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up in Elk City, Oklahoma in an Irish American family.Shenton, Mark. "The King and I star Kelli O'Hara: 'Doing work that feels like it has a message is very satisfying'", The Stage, June 6, 2018 She graduated from Deer Creek High School and also attended Oklahoma City University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in music in vocal performance/opera. O'Hara studied voice with Florence Birdwell, who also taught Kristin Chenoweth four years earlier. O'Hara and Chenoweth are both alumnae of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Career Early career One of O'Hara's earliest professional roles was in a U.S. national tour of the musical Jekyll & Hyde. She went on to play the role of Young Hattie Walker in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, and then played the role of Young Phyllis Rogers Stone."Follies 2001 Broadway Revival", sondheimguide.com, accessed May 22, 2014 She next appeared in the 2002 Broadway production of Sweet Smell of Success as Susan Hunsecker.Jones, Kenneth and Simonson, Robert. "Sweet Smell of Success Ends Broadway Run June 15" , Playbill.com, June 15, 2002 In 2003 she played Albertine in the Off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons production of the musical My Life with Albertine,Jones, Kenneth. "My Life With Albertine, the Musical That Would Make Proust Sing, Opens March 13" , Playbill.com, March 13, 2003 and, in 2004, Lucy Westenra in the Broadway production of Dracula, the Musical.Stevens, Beth. Kelli O'Hara", broadway.com, September 28, 2004
She starred as Clara Johnson in the 2005 Broadway production of The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre.Simonson, Robert."Guettel-Lucas Musical The Light in the Piazza Opens on Broadway April 18" , Playbill.com, April 18, 2005 She had appeared in a workshop of the musical at the Theatre Lab at Sundance, and in tryouts in Seattle and Chicago, as the character of Franca Naccarelli.Gans, Andrew. "Diva Talk: A Chat with Piazza's Kelli O'Hara Plus News of Menzel, Haran and Lansbury" , Playbill.com, August 26, 2005 She received a 2005 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 59th Tony Awards.Jones, Kenneth. "Doubt Is Best Play, Spamalot Best Musical; Butz, Irwin, Clark, Jones, Nichols Win 2005 Tonys" , Playbill.com, June 5, 2005 O'Hara has been nominated for, or won, a Tony Award for every subsequent role she has played on Broadway."Kelli O'Hara Broadway" , Playbillvault.com, accessed May 7, 2015 In her next Broadway musical, she played Babe Williams in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game, for which she was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical at the 60th Tony Awards. For this performance, New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley wrote that O'Hara "rockets past the promising ingénue status she attained with Light in the Piazza".Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review. The Pajama Game", The New York Times, February 24, 2006
In 2007, O'Hara played the role of Dot/Marie in the Los Angeles Reprise! concert staging of Sunday in the Park with GeorgeGans, Andrew. "Hello, George! Sunday in the Park – with Felciano and O'Hara – Begins Reprise! Run Jan. 30", Playbill.com, January 30, 2007, retrieved November 17, 2017 and Eliza Doolittle in the New York Philharmonic's semi-staged production of My Fair Lady at Avery Fisher Hall.Gans, Andrew. "Philharmonic's My Fair Lady Dances Into Avery Fisher Hall March 7", Playbill, March 7, 2007, retrieved November 17, 2017 She was the voice of producer Beth Totenbag on PBS' 2008 animated series Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns. From 2008 to 2010, O'Hara starred as Nellie Forbush in the Broadway revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater,Hetrick, Adam. "Kelli O'Hara Returns to South Pacific for Musical's Final Weeks Aug. 10", Playbill, August 10, 2010, retrieved November 17, 2017 for which she was nominated for her third Tony Award at the 62nd Tony Awards.Ku, Andrew. "Just the Facts: List of 2008 Tony Award Winners and Nominees", Playbill.com, June 16, 2008, retrieved November 17, 2017 She took maternity leave in March 2009 and returned to the musical in October 2009.Hetrick, Adam. "Expectant O'Hara to Depart South Pacific March 8" , playbill.com, February 2, 2009Glikas, Bruce. "Welcome Back, Kelli! Broadway Sweetheart O'Hara Returns to South Pacific", broadway.com, October 15, 2009
O'Hara played the role of Ella Peterson in the 2010 New York City Center Encores! concert presentation of Bells Are Ringing.Kenrick, John. "Bells Are Ringing Review, November 2010", musicals101.com, accessed May 23, 2014 She played the role of Ellen in the film Sex and the City 2 (2010), and in 2011 she appeared in "Mercy", the first episode of the second season of the CBS show Blue Bloods."Blue Bloods: 'Mercy'", cbspressexpress.com, retrieved December 31, 2016Blake, Leslie. "Review. Sex and the City 2", theatermania.com, May 26, 2010, retrieved December 31, 2016 Also in 2011, she played the role of Amalia Balash in a benefit concert of She Loves Me, presented by the Roundabout Theater Company, in honor of the company's 20th anniversary. Scott Ellis directed, and the musical director was Paul Gemignani.Jones, Kenneth. "She Loves Me, a '90s Hit for Roundabout, Gets Benefit Concert Dec. 5; Kelli O'Hara and Josh Radnor Star", Playbill, December 5, 2011 She had performed one of the best known songs from the show, "Will He Like Me?", the previous evening at Kennedy Center in honor of Barbara Cook.Gans, Andrew. "Updated: Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Rebecca Luker, Kelli O'Hara, Sutton Foster Paid Tribute to Barbara Cook at Kennedy Center Honors", Playbill.com, December 5, 2011
She starred on Broadway as Billie Bendix in Nice Work If You Can Get It from April 2012 to March 2013 and received her fourth Tony Award nomination at the 66th Tony Awards."Kelli O'Hara Broadway Credits and Awards", Playbill, retrieved December 31, 2016 In 2012, at the New Year's Eve concert, "Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch", at Lincoln Center, she sang "At the Ballet", from A Chorus Line, along with Audra McDonald and Megan Hilty.Gans, Andrew. "Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch Concert, with Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, Raúl Esparza, Josh Groban, Will Be Televised", Playbill.com, November 5, 2012 In 2013, she played the lead character of Julie Jordan in the staged concert of Carousel presented by the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall.Suskin, Steven. "A Memorable Carousel, Starring Kelli O'Hara and Nathan Gunn", Playbill, March 1, 2013, retrieved December 31, 2016 From January to May 2014, she starred as Francesca Johnson in the Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County, for which she received her fifth Tony Award nomination at the 68th Tony Awards.Bowgen, Philippe. "In Moving Final-Performance Speech, Kelli O'Hara Assures Bridges Is 'By No Means Going Into the Ground'" , Playbill.com, May 19, 2014 Elyse Sommer, a CurtainUp.com reviewer, noted O'Hara's "superb vocal chops" and her "exquisite" duets with co-star Steven Pasquale.Sommer, Elyse. "A CurtainUp Review. The Bridges of Madison County", curtainup.com, accessed May 23, 2014 She played Mrs. Darling in the 2014 NBC telecast Peter Pan Live!.Snetiker, Marc. Broadway star Kelli O'Hara joins Peter Pan Live as Mrs. Darling, ew.com, September 9, 2014 She sang two concerts, titled "Kelli and Matthew: Home for the Holidays", in December 2014 at Carnegie Hall with Matthew Morrison and the New York Pops.Hetrick, Adam. "Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison Come Home for the Holidays at Carnegie Hall Starting Tonight", Playbill, December 19, 2014 On December 31, 2014, O'Hara made her operatic debut at The Metropolitan Opera as Valencienne Zeta in Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow, alongside Renee Fleming in the title role of Hanna Glawari.Gans, Andrew. "Kelli O'Hara, Renée Fleming and Nathan Gunn Star in The Merry Widow; Susan Stroman Directs", Playbill, December 31, 2014, retrieved December 31, 2016
2015–present