Laura Osnes

Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage.

She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Osnes was born in Burnsville, Minnesota, raised in nearby Eagan, a suburb of Saint Paul, and is a Christian.

Her first acting performance was in the second grade, where she played a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz.

She attended Eagan High School.

Osnes attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point for one year as a Musical Theatre major, before dropping out to pursue a professional career.

In 2005–2006 she returned to Minneapolis to be a performing apprentice at the Children's Theatre Company, performing in Working, Aladdin Jr., Prom, and Pippi Longstocking.

She also played the lead of Sandy in Grease at the nation's largest dinner theatre, the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, but her run was cut short when she was chosen to compete in the nationally televised Broadway talent competition Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

Long-time boyfriend Nathan Johnson proposed to Osnes on December 23, 2006.

They were married on May 11, 2007.

They lived in Manhattan with their dog, Lyla, for over a decade once Laura started her Broadway career.

She was named the winner on March 25, 2007, which meant she would perform the lead character of Sandy opposite Max Crumm, who won the role of "Danny".

Osnes and Crumm played their final performances as Sandy and Danny on July 20, 2008, and they were succeeded by Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling, two of the runners-up of Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

Osnes starred in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Broadway: Three Generations, a three-act evening featuring condensed versions of Girl Crazy, Bye Bye Birdie, and Side Show.

The show was presented at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater October 2–5, 2008.

She then played Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet for the concert version of the new Broadway-aimed musical Pride & Prejudice that was presented October 21, 2008, at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York.

In early December Osnes returned home to Minneapolis and performed in a local Christmas pageant.

On January 11, 2009, she took part in the Rock Tenor Showcase, a showcase of a new concert experience that melds classical and Broadway music with rock-n-roll songs, at the Florence Gould Hall in Manhattan, and then sang at Dreamlight Theatre Company's "Bright Lights" concert series on the evening of January 26 entitled A Night with The Ladies.

In March 2009, Osnes took over the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush in the Lincoln Center Theater Broadway revival of South Pacific.

She stayed with the show through October 4, 2009, when the production's original star, Kelli O'Hara, returned from maternity leave.

She then starred as Bonnie Parker in the world premiere of Bonnie & Clyde at the La Jolla Playhouse from November 10 to December 20, 2009.

Osnes returned to the role of Nellie in South Pacific on Broadway on January 5, 2010.

She played her final performance on August 8, 2010.

She reprised the role of Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota, Florida, in November and December 2010.

Osnes then played Hope Harcourt in the Broadway revival of Anything Goes, which began previews on March 10, 2011, and officially opened on April 7, 2011, starring Sutton Foster and Joel Grey.

For this role Osnes received nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

She was also nominated for an Astaire Award for excellence in dance.

Osnes departed the production on September 11, 2011.

Beginning previews on November 4, 2011, with a December 1 opening night, Osnes once again played Bonnie, this time in the Broadway debut of Bonnie and Clyde at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

She was joined by her Asolo Rep castmate Jeremy Jordan as Clyde.

The show received negative reviews, had lackluster ticket sales and closed on December 30, 2011.

However, despite the critics' distaste for the production, Osnes received rave reviews for her performance as well as her first Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

Osnes next performed at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to Barbara Cook alongside Sutton Foster, Rebecca Luker, Kelli O'Hara, Patti LuPone, Glenn Close and Audra McDonald.

In January 2012, she played the title character in a reading of a reworked adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Cinderella.

She then led the Encores! stage concert production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream, based on John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday.

Under the direction of Marc Bruni, the production ran from March 28 to April 1, 2012.

In 2015, Osnes was a judge and mentor for the Songbook Academy, a summer intensive for high school students operated by the Great American Songbook Foundation and founded by Michael Feinstein.

Laura Osnes was nicknamed "Small Town Sandy" in the show.

She was a favorite to win during the entire course of the show, never showing up in the "sing-off" bottom two during the show's run.