Caitlin Kinnunen (born November 8, 1991) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Emma Nolan in the musical '' The Prom'', for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2019.

Early life and education

Kinnunen grew up in

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Her parents are Betsy Stam, an administrator at

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

and Randy Kinnunen, a former law enforcement agent. She was homeschooled. Her parents enrolled her and her sister in theatre classes as children so they would not be afraid of public speaking. She moved to New York in 2008 to pursue her theatre career.

Acting career

Kinnunen made her Broadway debut at age 16, as a replacement for the role of Thea in ''Spring Awakening''. In 2010, Kinnunen was the understudy for the role of Natalie in the national tour of ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing ...

''. Following these theater performances, Kinnunen took on a number of television and film roles. She was the lead character in the film '' Sweet Little Lies'' in 2011 and a minor character in ''

It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...

'', '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'', and '' The Intern''. She was next seen in the 2013 pre-Broadway performances of ''

The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman (WWII war bride) living on a ...

'' as Carolyn, and she continued the role when the production moved to Broadway the following year. The show closed on May 18, 2014, after 137 performances. In 2014, Kinnunen auditioned for the role of Alyssa in a reading for '' The Prom''. She ultimately was cast as the lead character, Emma Nolan, and went on to perform the role in Atlanta in 2016, before the show moved to Broadway in 2018. For this performance, she was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Kinnunen and co-star

Isabelle McCalla Isabelle McCalla (born June 15, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Alyssa Greene in the Broadway musical '' The Prom'' and playing Jasmine in the Broadway musical version of Disney's '' Aladdin''. Early life ...

's kiss during their performance at the 2018

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

made national news as the first LGBT kiss in the parade's history. The production closed on August 11, 2019, after 23 previews and 309 regular performances.

Personal life

In 2019, in an interview for

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, Kinnunen announced, after years of identifying as a straight ally, that she was dating a woman. She has since come out as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

. She has

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar ...

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnunen, Caitlin 1991 births 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Actresses from Washington (state) American musical theatre actresses American people of Finnish descent Living people Singers from Washington (state) LGBT actresses People with type 1 diabetes LGBT people from Washington (state) People from Camano, Washington 21st-century LGBT people