Rachel Bay Jones (born November 8, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of ''

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...

'' and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a t ...

''. The latter earned her an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and the 2017

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950 ...

Early life

Jones was born in New York City and grew up in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. Her mother is Jewish. Her parents were both Shakespearean actors. She dropped out of high school to perform in a local play, then moved to New York City to pursue acting at 19.

Career

Jones's first Broadway role was as an understudy for the lead role of Esther in ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' in 1989. In the early 1990s, she was in the touring company of ''Grand Hotel'', as well as other national and international tours, performing ''Rent'' in German and ''Evita'' in Spanish. She performed in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''Hair'' as the replacement for Mother, Buddahdalirama, and Member Of The Tribe. She was one of the original cast members starring in the revival of ''

'', playing Catherine, Pippin's lover, during the entire run. Ben Platt & Rachel Bay Jones with their Tony Awards

Jones portrayed Evan's mother Heidi in the musical ''

'', which premiered at the

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

in Washington, D.C. in July 2015. She reprised the role in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

production at the

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

in May 2016, and then on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

starting in November 2016. At the

71st Tony Awards The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS.Viagas, Robert"Brea ...

, she won for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Heidi Hansen. After leaving ''Dear Evan Hansen'' on August 5, 2018, Jones performed at several small venues in ''Something Beautiful'', a one-woman cabaret show that draws music from her expansive career and bringing meaning from her life into the lyrics."Rachel Bay Jones Brings 'Something Beautiful' to Feinsteins at the Nikko"
broadwayworld.com, July 19, 2018 In 2018, Jones appeared in the CBS television drama series ''

God Friended Me ''God Friended Me'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. It stars Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Javicia Leslie, Joe Morton and Erica Gimpel. The series was ordered ...

'', playing the role of Susan. She has also had guest roles on ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

'' and ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

''. She appeared in the concert of ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...

'' at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center on June 17, 2019, presented by the Transport Group. From January 29 to February 3, 2020 she starred as Diana in ''

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 ...

'' at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Broadway Center Stage series. In 2021, Jones joined the cast of '' The Good Doctor'' as Salen Morrison. This reunited her with former ''

'' co-star

Noah Galvin Noah Egidi Galvin (born May 6, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for playing Dr. Asher Wolke in the TV series '' The Good Doctor'', Kenny O'Neal in the ABC sitcom ''The Real O'Neals'' and later taking over the titular ro ...

(who played the title role, the son of Jones's character, Heidi).

Personal life

She has a daughter, Miranda, and is partner to actor Benim Foster. Jones has one sibling, her brother Darren.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Source: Internet Broadway Database"Rachel Bay Jones Broadway and Touring"
ibdb.com, accessed August 25, 2020

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rachel Bay 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Florida Actresses from New York City Daytime Emmy Award winners Grammy Award winners People from Boca Raton, Florida Tony Award winners 1969 births Living people