
Acting
Laura Benanti
Born 1979-07-15 · New York City, New York, USA
Laura Benanti (born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, winning the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2016 she starred in She Loves Me as Amalia Balash, which was televised. She played Elsa Schräder in the 2013 NBC television production of The Sound of Music Live!, appeared as Sadie Stone in Nashville in 2014 and 2015 and that same year began playing twin sisters Alura and Astra in the TV series Supergirl. Beginning in 2017, Benanti appeared as Edie Randall in the TBS comedy The Detour. Since 2016, she has had a recurring role as First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Acting credits
6.7On the brink of losing her childhood home, Maddie discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, before he leaves for college. To her surprise, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing.
No Hard Feelings
2023
7.6On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
6.8Rapunzel grapples with the responsibilities of being a princess and the overprotective ways of her father. While she wholeheartedly loves Eugene, Rapunzel does not share his immediate desire to get married and settle down within the castle walls. Determined to live life on her own terms, she and her tough-as-nails Lady-in-Waiting Cassandra embark on a secret adventure where they encounter mystical rocks that magically cause Rapunzel's long blonde hair to grow back. Impossible to break and difficult to hide, Rapunzel must learn to embrace her hair and all that it represents.
Tangled: Before Ever After
2017
6.9A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane.
Take the Lead
2006
6.3The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
The Sound of Music Live!
2013
6.9Veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns, who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality, befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Payge. Together, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Here Today
2021
6.5Andy Goodrich's life is upended when his wife enters a rehab program, leaving him on his own with their young kids. Goodrich leans on his daughter from his first marriage, Grace, as he ultimately evolves into the father Grace never had.
Goodrich
2024
5.6When Lainy's plan to settle down and start a family falls apart, she puts on a fake baby bump, tells a lie — and accidentally falls for her dream guy.
Kinda Pregnant
2025
6.7Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what life is worth.
Worth
2021
6.0When they are unexpectedly forced to move in with an estranged relative, the Smart Family must navigate oversized dreams, identity struggles and regional theater in this warmly observant family comedy.
Everything's Going to Be Great
2025
Feature film shooting in Summer 2026.
Untitled Dan Perlman Project
—
The film takes place against the backdrop of the 1994 U.S. World Cup, as 11-year-old Nicky (Rodriguez) inspires his misfit crew to fall in love with soccer. But when he’s drafted onto a competitive team, he must decide between chasing victory and protecting the joys of the game.
The Ditch
—
NRGo behind the scenes of Broadway as shows reunite, rehearse and re-stage for their long-awaited reopening nights while the theater industry learns how to turn the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reopening: The Broadway Revival
2022
7.2Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
2005
4.6Small-town detective Noah Cordin is called to solve a juvenile homicide that occurred during a home burglary in his affluent town of Hilliard. The dead boy's mother, Allison Connor, is a member of the Meskada County Board of Commissioners, and a powerful woman in Hilliard; and the entire township rallies together in solidarity - to support her and Detective Cordin's efforts to find the killers.
Meskada
2010
NRCiting homosexual propaganda law, Russian government outlaws theatrical performance. The Russian Broadway community responds.
Russian Broadway Shut Down
2014
5.2Grace is a Chinese American who longs to be a part of New York's high society. At a socialite event, she is mistaken for a Hong Kong heiress and meets her Prince Charming. Nothing is as it seems absorbing drama. What will happen to this Cinderella when the clock strikes midnight?
Falling for Grace
2006
8.0Join us for a rousing celebration of the life and works of one of Broadway's greatest legends — the one and only Stephen Sondheim. For the master composer and lyricist's 80th birthday, many of musical theater's brightest stars gathered in March of 2010 to perform more than two dozen sensational numbers from Sondheim's illustrious career, and several of these enduring songs are performed by the original Broadway cast members. David Hyde Pierce hosts this magical event with Stephen Sondheim's longtime collaborator Paul Gemignani conducting the New York Philharmonic. Originally broadcast as an episode of the PBS series "Great Performances" (season 38, episode 2).
Sondheim! The Birthday Concert
2010
7.7Amalia and Georg work together at a modest Hungarian perfumerie, and have disliked each other from the very beginning. He thinks she's stuck up, and she thinks he's arrogant and mean. But each rapturously writes to a lonely hearts pen pal when the workday is done, and it doesn't take long for the audience to see that they're in love without realizing it. Originally live-streamed by BroadwayHD, then broadcast as an episode of the PBS series "Great Performances" (season 45, episode 3).
She Loves Me
2016
4.9Twenty-year-old Ryan struggles with a debilitating anxiety disorder following his father's death. Together with his two brothers, he must fight to break the destructive cycle threatening their family as ancient darkness closes in on them.
The Shade
2024
6.0Inspired by the viral success of Tony-winner Laura Benanti's #sunshinesongs, this feel-good docu-special spotlights a talented group of high school seniors as they give show-stopping performances from home to capture their 2020 experiences.
Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020
2020
5.2Late night host Stephen Colbert leads a live 2016 election night special of anything-goes political satire and social commentary. Featuring real-time reactions as the results come in, plus an eclectic group of guests to break it all down.
Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale
2016
NRFeaturette about "The Wedding Singer" musical.
A Backstage Look at "The Wedding Singer" on Broadway
—
NRA one woman show written and performed by Kayla Capone Kasper where she auditions for the role of a lifetime, Laura Benanti.
Becoming Benanti: The Role of a Lifetime
2022