Lauren Kennedy

Lauren Kennedy
At Broadway in Bryant Park, July 23, 2009
Born	1973/1974 (age 42–43) Raleigh, North Carolina
Occupation	actress, singer
Years active	1980s - present
Spouse(s)	married to Charlie Brady

Lauren Kennedy (born c. 1973) is an American actress, and a singer who has performed numerous times on Broadway. She is now the Producing Artistic Director of Theatre Raleigh in her home state of North Carolina.

Kennedy was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated from Needham Broughton High School in 1991. She started acting at the North Carolina Theatre while in high school. Kennedy attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she was pursuing a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre. She left school at the age of 19, when she was cast in the 1993 Los Angeles production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard", After a nine-month run, she moved to New York for the musical's 1994 Broadway opening.

Kennedy appeared in the original cast of the short-lived Side Show as the standby for Emily Skinner, for whom she stepped in many times due to Skinner's frequent absences. She has also starred in Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway as a replacement for the Lady of the Lake. Additionally, she has been seen on Broadway in Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, Side Show, and Cinderella with New York City Opera. She originated the role of Cathy in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years in its Chicago premiere, but opted to do South Pacific at the National Theatre in London instead of following the show Off-Broadway (she was replaced by Sherie Rene Scott). In 2004, she starred as Emma Carew in the concert-style version of Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical entitled Resurrection, opposite Kate Shindle and Rob Evan. However, she left the tour before it concluded, to be replaced by Brandi Burkhardt, who is heard on the recording of the tour.