Kelli O'Hara

Kelli O'Hara is an American actress and soprano who has become one of Broadway’s most celebrated leading ladies since the early 2000s. Born on April 16, 1976 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she grew up in Elk City within an Irish‑American family before earning a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Oklahoma City University, where she studied under the legendary Florence Birdwell. Her professional debut came on the national tour of Jekyll & Hyde, and she soon appeared in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies as Young Hattie Walker, establishing a reputation for both dramatic depth and crystalline vocal technique. Over the next two decades she originated or head‑lined a string of high‑profile productions—including The Light in the Piazza (2005), The Pajama Game (2006), South Pacific (2008), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), The Bridges of Madison County (2014), and the award‑winning revival of The King and I (2015) in which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her accolades also encompass a Drama Desk Award for Days of Wine and Roses (2024) and a Laurence Olivier nomination for the West End run of The King and I (2019). Beyond the Broadway stage, O’Hara has performed at the Metropolitan Opera in productions such as The Merry Widow (2014), Così fan tutte (2018), and The Hours (2022‑24), showcasing her operatic versatility. She has appeared on television in series like Masters of Sex, 13 Reasons Why, and The Gilded Age, earning a Primetime Emmy nomination for the web series The Accidental Wolf (2017). In her personal life, she married actor‑musician Greg Naughton in 2007, and the couple have two children, Owen James (born 2009) and Charlotte (born 2013). Her career continues to evolve, with recent projects including the Broadway transfer of Days of Wine and Roses and a forthcoming season of The Gilded Age, confirming her status as a dynamic, cross‑genre talent who bridges musical theatre, opera, and screen.