Sutton Foster

About Sutton Foster

Sutton Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an Tony Award-winning American actress, singer, and dancer. She is the sister of actor Hunter Foster.

Foster was born in Statesboro, Georgia and raised in Troy, Michigan. At age fifteen, she was a contestant on the television show Star Search and also auditioned for the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club. She left Troy High School, where she had been active in the Troy Theatre Ensemble and as a dancer for the Troy Kids on the Block, a New Kids on the Block tribute group, before her senior year (she received her diploma via correspondence courses) to be in the national tour of The Will Rogers Follies directed by Tommy Tune. She then attended Carnegie Mellon University for one year, but left to pursue a theatrical career full-time.

Foster's big break was reminiscent of 42nd Street when, during rehearsals of the pre-Broadway run of Thoroughly Modern Millie at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, where she was the Understudy and was called on to replace the leading lady, Erin Dilly. This was hardly her first Broadway caliber production as she had played roles on Broadway and in National tours of such shows as the revival of Annie as the "Star to Be", the 1995 Broadway revival of Grease as the Understudy to the role of "Sandy", and Les Miserables as the Understudy to the role of "Eponine." But still she was basically an "unknown" and any apprehension about having an unknown playing the lead in a nearly $10 million Broadway production was proven unfounded when she opened at the Marquis Theatre to primarily rave reviews. Foster went on to win the 2002 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her performance.