Emilia "Millie" Rose O'Connell (born 18 January 1997) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Anne Boleyn in the original UK tour and West End production of the musical '' Six''. She is part of pop girl group SVN. She has received

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and

WhatsOnStage Award 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 ...

nominations.

Early life

O'Connell is from Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England. She is of Maltese, Irish, and Italian descent. From the age of three, O'Connell took classes at the Gillian Cartwright School of Dance. She attended

Christ the King College Christ the King College (CKC) is a secondary school founded in 1954 in Bo, Sierra Leone. The school was founded by Mother Marie Louise De Meester in 1954 under the direction of Archbishop Thomas Joseph Brosnahan. The Christ the King College is r ...

. After completing her GCSEs at 16, she won a scholarship to train at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, graduating in 2015, aged 18.

Career

O'Connell made her professional stage debut in the international revival of the show '' 42nd Street'' in 2016, in Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, forming part of the ensemble whilst understudying Peggy Sawyer. In 2017, she moved back to the UK, performing in the same show in Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, forming part of the ensemble whilst understudying Anytime Annie. In 2018 she joined the UK tour cast of ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical-romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve young ...

'', understudying Millie Dillmount. Her rise to fame stemmed from her role of Anne Boleyn in the original UK tour cast of '' Six'' in 2018. The show's success gave it a permanent home in the West End's Arts Theatre, where she starred in the show until October 2019. Prior to leaving the show, Millie had played the most shows out of every actress in the original West End cast. Late 2019 brought O'Connell the role of Velcro in ''

Soho Cinders ''Soho Cinders'' is a musical with music by George Stiles, lyrics and a book by Anthony Drewe with Elliot Davis as co-author. A modern adaptation of the ''Cinderella'' story, it transfers the action to the heart of London's Soho, and replaces ...

'' at Charing Cross Theatre. In 2020 she starred in ''

Be More Chill ''Be More Chill'' is a teen novel written by American author Ned Vizzini and published on June 1, 2004. It follows unpopular high school student and social outcast Jeremy Heere, who is considered a loser by his peers. Deeply unsatisfied with his ...

'' as Chloe Valentine in The Other Palace. She left the show two weeks before its original closing date to rehearse for ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' at the Turbine Theatre, where she portrayed the role of Jeanie. Following this, Millie landed 'her dream role' of Maureen Johnson 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 ...

''. She starred in this revival alongside '' Six'' cast alumna Maiya Quansah-Breed, portraying the leading role of

Mimi Marquez ''Rent'' is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera ''La Bohème''. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Low ...

. Due to COVID-19, the show only had five live performances before shutting due to government guidelines. In response to this, the team livestreamed a recorded version of the show during lockdown. They returned to the show in 2021, Millie returning to the role. In 2021, Millie returned to the role of Chloe Valentine in ''Be More Chill,'' showing at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

, and then returned to the role of Jeanie in ''Hair'', showing in the London Palladium. In April 2022, it was announced that ''

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 ...

'' would be touring the UK. Millie took on the role of Babe (Cher) on the year long tour. The show launched at the

Curve Theatre The Curve Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Before being named ''Curve'', it was referred to as ''Leicester Performing Arts Centre''. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena confere ...

in Leicester. The creative team included director

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, choreographer

Oti Mabuse Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...

and costume designer

Gabriella Slade Gabriella Slade is a British costume designer, best known for her work in musicals such as '' Six'', ''The Cher Show'' and '' In the Heights.'' For her work in the musical ''Six'', she has received the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Mus ...

. August 2022 brought the original cast of ''Six'' together to film a proshot, and Millie, reunited with her castmates, were granted the opportunity to reprise their roles once more at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

in July.

SVN

Millie also forms a part of the pop girl group SVN (pronounced 'seven') alongside six former West End cast members of ''Six'':

Jarnéia Richard-Noel Jarnéia Richard-Noel (born 12 June 1994) is an English stage actress and singer. She is known for portraying the role of Catherine of Aragon in the musical ''Six'' on the original UK tour and in the West End production at the Arts Theatre, Ly ...

, Natalie May Paris, Alexia McIntosh (Lexi),

Aimie Atkinson Aimie Allen-Atkinson (born 5 June 1987) is an English stage actress and singer. She is known for portraying the role of Katherine Howard in British comedy musical ''Six'' on the original UK tour and in the West End production at the Arts Theatre, ...

and Maiya Quansah-Breed, and

Grace Mouat Grace Elizabeth Mouat (born 12 May 1996) is an English musical theatre actress and podcaster. She is best known as dance captain in the musical '' Six'', cover Juliet in ''& Juliet,'' Ella in '' Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella'' ( Hope Mill Th ...

(former swing and dance captain of the original cast of '' Six'' ). After a limited series of concerts in October 2020, their debut concert was rescheduled from February 2022 to 7 August 2022 at the O2 Academy Islington, with the group releasing singles such as ''Stars'' (2021) and ''Woman'', ''Free'', ''Boss'' and ''At Christmas'' (2022).

Discography

Concerts

Personal life

O'Connell is openly

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 ...

Filmography

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Millie O'Connell
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:oconnell, millie Living people 1997 births Actors from the Isle of Wight English LGBT actors English queer actresses English musical theatre actresses English people of Irish descent English people of Italian descent English people of Maltese descent People from Shanklin