Laura Benanti (born Laura Ilene Vidnovic, July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer whose career spans Broadway, television, film, and concert stages. A five-time Tony Award nominee and one-time winner, she is especially acclaimed for her work in musical theatre and for her sharp, satirical portrayal of Melania Trump on late-night television.
Early Life and Training
Benanti was born in New York City to performer parents: vocal coach and former actress Linda Wonneberger and Broadway actor-singer Martin Vidnovic. Of Serbian, German, and Irish descent, she was raised primarily in Kinnelon, New Jersey, after her parents’ divorce. She took the surname of her stepfather, psychotherapist Salvatore Benanti, whom she considers her father.
A self-described “serious” child with an old soul and a fixation on musical theatre—especially the work of Stephen Sondheim—she spent her teen years immersed in school and community productions. Roles included Perón’s mistress in Evita, Young Heidi in Follies, Cinderella in Into the Woods, and the title role in Hello, Dolly! at Kinnelon High School, where she won the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award for Outstanding Actress. She graduated in 1997 and briefly attended NYU before leaving to pursue a professional career.
Broadway Career
Breakthrough: The Sound of Music and Early Roles
At 18, Benanti was recommended by Paper Mill Playhouse’s artistic director for the Broadway revival of The Sound of Music. Initially considered for Liesl, she was instead cast as a nun and as understudy to Rebecca Luker’s Maria von Trapp. At 19, she took over the role of Maria full-time, earning early praise as a major new musical theatre talent.
Her next major stage credit was the swing-era revue Swing! (1999), which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She followed with acclaimed work in the Encores! concert of Wonderful Town and continued to build a strong presence in New York theatre.
Critical Success: Into the Woods, Nine, and Gypsy
In 2002, Benanti played Cinderella in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods, earning Tony and Drama Desk nominations. During the run, a stage pratfall caused a serious neck injury that was initially misdiagnosed; the resulting pain and missed performances led to rumors of unprofessionalism she later spoke of as deeply hurtful. She eventually underwent spinal surgery, recovering both her health and her voice.
Just weeks after surgery, she joined the 2003 revival of Nine as film star Claudia opposite Antonio Banderas. She continued to balance musical theatre and plays, including World AIDS Day benefit concerts and the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer (2006), where she played Julia Sullivan.
Her breakthrough came as Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, first presented at New York City Center Encores! with Patti LuPone and Boyd Gaines and then transferred to Broadway. Her performance as the shy, overlooked Louise who becomes the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee won her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, along with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
Continued Stage Work: From Ruhl to Loesser to She Loves Me
Benanti’s stage work has remained varied and adventurous. She starred in:
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Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) on Broadway
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The Broadway musical adaptation of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, earning another Tony nomination and both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards
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The Encores! concert staging of The Most Happy Fella as Rosabella
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Steve Martin’s Broadway comedy Meteor Shower, opposite Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jeremy Shamos
In 2016, she starred as Amalia Balash in the Roundabout revival of She Loves Me, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She later joined the Lincoln Center Theater revival of My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle, extending her run due to popular demand.
Television and Film
Benanti has worked steadily in television, often moving between comedy and drama.
Notable TV roles include:
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Bunny Mother Carol-Lynne on The Playboy Club
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Lauren Bennett on NBC’s Go On
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Detective Nick Amaro’s wife, Maria, on Law & Order: SVU
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Country singer Sadie Stone on Nashville
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Dual roles as Alura and Astra on Supergirl
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Edie Randall on The Detour
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Quinn Tyler on Younger
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Kiki Hope on the rebooted Gossip Girl
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Susan Blane on The Gilded Age
She played Elsa Schrader in NBC’s live broadcast The Sound of Music Live! and has made guest appearances on Elementary, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife, and others.
On film, she’s appeared in projects such as Take the Lead, Falling for Grace, Meskada, Worth, Here Today, Tick, Tick… Boom!, and No Hard Feelings, among others.
Voice Work and Concerts
Benanti has an active voice career, notably as Lady Caine in Tangled: Before Ever After and Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, where her character was praised as fierce and charismatic. She has also appeared as a soloist in Andrew Lippa’s oratorio I Am Harvey Milk and in various concert and cabaret settings.
Her live album In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention, recorded at 54 Below, captures her blend of musical virtuosity and sharp, self-deprecating humor. She released her first solo studio album, Laura Benanti, in 2020.
Melania Trump Parody
Since 2016, Benanti has become widely recognized for her recurring portrayal of Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Her impression, equal parts arch and oddly sympathetic, has become one of the most memorable political parodies of the era.
Personal Life
Benanti’s personal life has included three marriages:
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She married Chris Barron, lead singer of Spin Doctors, in 2005; they divorced the following year.
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In 2007, she married actor Steven Pasquale; they filed for divorce in 2013.
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In 2015, she married Patrick Brown.
Benanti and Brown have two daughters: Ella (born 2017) and Louisa (born 2022 via surrogate). In 2023, Benanti publicly shared that she had suffered a miscarriage while performing on a Broadway-themed cruise, continuing the concert even as she understood what was happening. She spoke candidly about pregnancy loss, noting it was not her first, and used the experience to further normalize discussions around grief and fertility.
