Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

'', Odette in ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'',

Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

in the ''Aladdin'' sequels ''

The Return of Jafar ''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...

'' and '' Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', adult Kiara in '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'', and a dancing napkin ring in ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

''. She was also the original Ellen in the Broadway production of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

''.

Early life, family, and education

Callaway was born in

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

to Shirley Callaway, a singer, pianist, and vocal coach, and John Callaway, a journalist. Her sister is actress, composer, and singer

Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''. Career A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...

, with whom she sang the theme song for the

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...

comedy series ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...

'', which Hampton Callaway also composed. Both sisters attended

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illinoi ...

(New Trier East) in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

. Callaway has also appeared in a number of cabaret and stage productions with her sister. Recordings of two of them, ''Sibling Revelry'' recorded live at Rainbow and Stars in 1995 and ''Boom!'' recorded live at Birdland in 2011, have been released.

Career

Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's short-lived '' Merrily We Roll Along'' (1981). This began a long-term professional relationship with Sondheim: Callaway has performed in a number of live concerts in his honor, appeared with Sondheim on ''

Inside the Actors Studio ''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel Cente ...

'', and also played the role of Young Sally in the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

concert production of ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...

'' with

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals ''Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' (19 ...

George Hearn George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre. Early years Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before ...

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...

, and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. ''Follies'' was recorded live and also filmed as a documentary. Additional stage credits include Lizzie in ''

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

'' (for which she earned 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 ...

nomination), ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'', ''

The Spitfire Grill ''The Spitfire Grill'' (also known as ''Care of the Spitfire Grill'') is a 1996 American film written and directed by Lee David Zlotoff and starring Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney and Gailard Sa ...

'' (for which she earned a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nomination), ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatt ...

'', ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'', ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'', and ''Miss Saigon''. Liz also performed in '' The Look of Love'', a 2003 musical revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Callaway also had her own children's television show on WNEV-TV in Boston, ''Ready to Go'', which ran from 1987 to 1991, winning her an Emmy Award. She left this series to begin rehearsals for ''Miss Saigon'' on Broadway. In July 2012, she starred as Norma Desmond in the Pittsburgh CLO's new production of ''Sunset Boulevard'' Callaway has also provided the singing voices for a number of animated characters, including Anya/Anastasia in ''

'', Kiara in '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'',

Princess Jasmine Princess Jasmine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film ''Aladdin'' (1992). Voiced by American actress Linda Larkin with a singing voice provided by Filipina singer Lea Salonga Jasmine is the s ...

in ''

'' and '' Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', and Princess Odette in ''

''. She has performed various cabaret acts at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

, Rainbow and Stars, the

Russian Tea Room The Russian Tea Room is an Art Deco Russo-Continental restaurant, located at 150 West 57th Street (between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue), between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower, in the New York City borough of Manhattan ...

, 54 Below, and Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...

in London, among other venues. Callaway's solo recordings include ''Anywhere I Wander'' (1993), ''The Story Goes On'' (1995), and ''The Beat Goes On'' (2001). She released her fourth recording, ''Passage of Time'', for the record label

PS Classics PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin. Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...

, on October 20, 2009, which featured an appearance with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway. In 2015 she released an album of songs from her most recognized work, ''The Essential Liz Callaway''. Liz was honored at the 25th Annual

Bistro Awards ''Backstage'', also previously written as ''Back Stage'', is an American entertainment industry trade publication. Founded by Allen Zwerdling and Ira Eaker in 1960, it covers the film and performing arts industry from the perspective of performer ...

in New York City.

Personal life

Liz married theatre director and producer Dan Foster in 1985, a founding producer of the Hudson Stage Company, a nonprofit, professional theatre company in residence at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. They have a son.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

* ''Anywhere I Wander'' (

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...

) (September 28, 1993) * ''Sibling Revelry'' ( DRG, 1996) with Ann Hampton Callaway * ''The Story Goes On'' (Varèse Sarabande) (August 29, 1995) * ''The Beat Goes On'' (Varèse Sarabande) (May 15, 2001) * ''Passage of Time'' (

) (October 20, 2009) * ''Boom! Live at Birdland'' (PS Classics, 2011) with Ann Hampton Callaway * ''Merry and Bright'' (2013) * ''Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas)'' (Working Girl Records) (December 4, 2020)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callaway, Liz American stage actresses American women singers American musical theatre actresses American sopranos American voice actresses New Trier High School alumni Actresses from Chicago 1961 births Living people 21st-century American women