Debbie Kurup (born 3 July 1979) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Acting career

Kurup's theatrical credits include: !Sweet Charity! (Donmar Warehouse), "Girl from the North Country" (Old Vic -original London cast) and "The Threepenny Opera" (National Theatre). In 2015 she played the role of Reno Sweeney in

Stage Entertainment Stage Entertainment is an international operating live entertainment company, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. The company was founded in 1998 by Joop van den Ende in Amsterdam. History The Netherlands / Corporate The root of the company ...

's production of ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' (UK/Ireland Tour) for which she received a MTA nomination for Best Actress. Prior to this, she played Nicki Marron in the World Premiere of '' The Bodyguard'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, (2013). Kurup was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Best Supporting Actress in a musical at the

Whatsonstage.com Awards The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...

of 2013, for her role as Nicki Marron in ''The Bodyguard'' and as Best actress in a supporting role in a musical at the BroadwayWorld.comUK awards. Kurup has also appeared in several theatre productions, including ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' as Velma Kelly between January and April 2006 at the Adelphi Theatre, London and she reprised the same role in 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre. DeeDee in

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

's musical '' Tonight's The Night'' at the

Victoria Palace The Victoria Palace () is a government building on the large Victory Square () in Bucharest, housing the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet. The Victory Palace was designed in 1937 to house the Foreign Ministry, and nearly complete in 19 ...

. Mimi in ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' UK Tour and in the West End at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

. Carmen in ''

Fame (musical) ''Fame'' is a stage musical based on the 1980 musical film of the same name, with book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. Conceived and developed by David De Silva, it premiered in 1988 in Miami, Florida, an ...

'' for the UK tour and Consuela/Anita in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' at the Prince of Wales Theatre. In September 2007 she starred in new musical ''

I Love You Because ''I Love You Because'' is a musical set in modern-day New York. It is based on Jane Austen's novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. It features lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, set to music by Joshua Salzman. Production history Cunningham and Salzman first met ...

'' at the

Landor Theatre The Landor Theatre is a pub theatre in Clapham, South London. Originally the Cage Theatre upon its opening in 1994, the Landor became "Upstairs at the Landor" in 1995 and finally the Landor Theatre in 1998, following a refit of the building. I ...

Clapham, London Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

as Diana Bingley, receiving critical acclaim. She also played the role of KT in ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It ...

'', at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

and was first understudy to leading role Deloris. Kurup appeared as a soloist in the Chess In Concert Company for two nights at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. Kurup played Mrs Neilsen in the 2017 production of ''

Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...

''. She will play Star, one of the personas of American entertainer

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

in the UK tour of ''

The Cher Show ''Cher'' was an American variety show that premiered on CBS in 1975, hosted by singer-actress Cher. The show had many famous musical guests. It followed a TV special featuring Elton John, Bette Midler, and Flip Wilson as guests. ''Cher'' pre ...

'' in 2022.

Recording career

Kurup features on the original London cast albums of ''The Prince of Egypt'', ''Girl from the North Country'', ''Tonight's The Night'', ''Sister Act'' and ''Chess in Concert'' recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall.Debbie Kurup's discography
Retrieved 31 July 2015

References

1979 births Living people Actresses from London British actresses of Indian descent English musical theatre actresses English people of Indian descent English stage actresses English television actresses English women singers People educated at Edmonton County School Singers from London {{England-singer-stub