Katie Brayben (born 3 September) is an English actress and musician who has performed in stage plays, television and musicals and also as a singer and songwriter with her own music. She is presently best known for her portrayal of the title role of
Carole King in the London production of ''
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'', for which she won the 2015
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Biography
Brayben is an English actress, singer and musician who also performs as an original songwriter playing piano and guitar.
Born Katie Burke, her parents being London blues-based performers Mick (Mike) Burke and Frances (Fran) McGillivray, she was raised in a musical household in the
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
borough of
Lewisham
Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...
; her sister Jo Burke is also a folk music performer (singer and violinist). She studied at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2003.
She made her West End debut when she took over the lead role of Sophie in the 10th anniversary production of ''Mamma Mia!'' and later starred opposite
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...
in the ''
American Psycho'' musical. In 2014 she joined the production of
Mike Bartlett's ''
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
'' playing
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, and moved with the show when it transferred from the Almeida Theatre to the West End. In 2015 when that show moved to Broadway, she took on the title role of
Carole King in the London production of ''
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical''. Her performance won the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Filmography
Stage
References
External links
*
English musical theatre actresses
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from the London Borough of Lewisham
Actresses from London
Place of birth missing (living people)
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