Janie Dee

Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is a British actress.

She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, for her performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.

She also won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in Nicholas Hytner's acclaimed production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel at the National Theatre.

Dee's first West End production was Gillian Lynne's 1986 revival of Cabaret by Kander and Ebb in which she played Gertie and understudied the role of Sally Bowles.

This led to an invitation from Wayne Sleep, who played the Emcee in that production, to join his UK tour as The Singer.

Subsequently, the choreographer Bill Deamer invited her to the Salisbury Playhouse to perform in A Chorus of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn and as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at Christmas 1987.

This led to leading roles in musical theatre, including Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, Ellie May Chipley in the award-winning Royal Shakespeare Company and Opera North production of Show Boat at the London Palladium, Bombalurina in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, Claudine in Cole Porter's Can-Can, and Ado Annie in the national tour of Oklahoma!.

Dee's portrayal of Carrie Pipperidge in the 1993 Royal National Theatre's production of Carousel earned her an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical and an invitation from Sir Richard Eyre to play her first major straight role; that of Julie in Johnny on a Spot at the National Theatre, where she subsequently went on to play Helen of Troy in The Women of Troy.

Dee has had an important working relationship with the playwright and director Alan Ayckbourn.

This began with Paul Todd's fringe production of Between The Lines for which Ayckbourn wrote song lyrics and was followed by Dreams From A Summerhouse at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.

She returned to work with Ayckbourn in 1996 in Neil Simon's They're Playing Our Song after which Ayckbourn wrote Comic Potential 'with Janie in mind'.

Her performance as Jacie Triplethree at Scarborough, subsequently in the West End and then at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, won her the aforementioned Best Actress Awards in London and New York, as well as considerable critical acclaim.

In New York Magazine, John Simon wrote "Miss Dee's creation is a spectacular achievement. I am not sure that I have ever seen its equal, but I am certain I have never seen, nor ever will see, it's superior."

Dee is known for her versatility as a performer.

She was invited by opera director David Pountney, to play Lidotchka in his production of Shostakovich's Paradise Moscow for Opera North.

She followed this playing Masha in Brian Friel's translation of Chekhov's Three Sisters and Edyth Herbert, opposite Tim Flavin in the George Gershwin musical My One and Only, both at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

My One and Only subsequently transferred to the West End and Dee was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

As a result, in 2003 Sir Peter Hall asked Dee to star in his season at the Theatre Royal, Bath, playing Gilda in Noël Coward's Design for Living and Emma in Harold Pinter's Betrayal, opposite Aden Gillett and Hugo Speer.

Betrayal subsequently transferred to the Duchess Theatre in the West End.

Hall then invited her to play Beatrice in his production of Much Ado About Nothing.

In 2005 Pinter invited Dee to play Kate in Old Times at the Gate Theatre, Dublin and to participate in a celebration of his work, including a reading of his play Celebration, with Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Sinéad Cusack, Penelope Wilton, Michael Gambon, Stephen Rea and Stephen Brennan.

Producer, Michael Colgan, subsequently transferred the piece to London's Noël Coward Theatre, for 3 performances, with Charles Dance playing the Maitre D. Six months later Celebration was filmed for Channel 4, with Colin Firth playing the role of Russell, opposite Dee as Suki.

In 2006 Dee returned to musical theatre to play Mabel Normand in John Doyle's production of Jerry Herman's Mack and Mabel opposite David Soul at the Criterion Theatre, after which Dee took over the role of Lady Driver in Michael Frayn's Donkeys' Years at the Comedy Theatre.

At the end of the run Dee helped to organise a reading for charity of William Nicholson's play Shadowlands which deals with the relationship between C. S. Lewis and the American writer Joy Gresham.

Charles Dance played C.S. Lewis.

Sir Peter Hall, Harold Pinter and Dee were reunited for the National tour of Old Times with Susannah Harker and Neil Pearson and then a West End Production of Shadowlands was mounted in which Dee was reunited with director Michael Barker-Caven and Charles Dance.

The production began at Wyndham's Theatre and subsequently transferred to the Novello Theatre.

Charles Dance received the Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of C. S. Lewis.

In 2008 Dee returned to the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park to play Olivia in Twelfth Night opposite her Carousel co- star, Clive Rowe.

Alan Ayckbourn then invited Dee back to Scarborough to play the title role of Susan in a revival of his play Woman in Mind for which she won critical acclaim and the production subsequently transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London.

In 2009 Dee returned to Theatre Royal Bath to play Orinthia in George Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart, directed by Sir Peter Hall, and took over the role of Annie in Calendar Girls by Tim Firth in the West End.

In 2010, Dee played The Countess of Roussillion in All's Well That Ends Well at Shakespeare's Globe which was filmed for DVD release by Opus Arte, Anna Leonowens in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I at the Curve, Leicester, and played Natalya in Jonathan Kent's production of A Month in the Country at Chichester.

In 2011 she played Belinda in the Old Vic revival of Michael Frayn's Noises Off which was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Revival and subsequently transferred to the Novello Theatre.

In 2012, Dee was offered the role of women's magazine editor, Miranda in NSFW, a new play by Lucy Kirkwood at the Royal Court Theatre for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

At Christmas 2012 Dee played Dolly Levi in Paul Kerryson's revival of Hello Dolly! at the Curve, Leicester for which she won the TMA Theatre Award UK for Best Performance in a Musical.

In 2013, Dee won the TMA Theatre Award UK for Best Performance in a Musical for her performance as Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly at Curve, Leicester.

Janie Dee was born in Old Windsor, Berkshire.

She is the daughter of John Lewis and Ruth Lewis (née Miller) and the eldest of four sisters.

She trained at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, London.

On leaving ArtsEd, Dee began her career as a dancer, subsequently moving to Rome, Italy where she taught dance, took singing lessons, and learned to speak Italian.