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Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE (n?e Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an
English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised
in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school and made
her first professional appearance on stage in 1964. Her appearance in the 1968
production of Hair marked her West End debut.
Following a number of roles over the next decade, Paige was selected to play Eva Per?n in the first production of Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. The role won her the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a Musical. She went on to originate the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with "Memory", a song from the show. In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well" with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo, according to the Guinness Book of Records. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. She has also worked in film and television.
In addition to being nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, Paige has won many other awards for her theatre roles and has been called the First Lady of British Musical Theatre. She has released 20 solo albums, of which eight were consecutively certified gold and another four multi-platinum. Paige is also featured on seven cast albums and has sung in concerts across the world. Since 2004 she has hosted her own show on BBC Radio 2 called Elaine Paige on Sunday.
Paige was raised in Barnet, North London, where her father worked as an estate agent and her mother was a milliner. Her mother had been a singer in her youth, and her father was an amateur drummer. Paige stands at just under 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, which she says has caused her to lose out on leading roles. Her original ambition was to become a professional tennis player, at which point her headmistress pointed out to her "they'd never see you over the net", but Paige continued to play tennis and has referred to the sport as one of her passions.
At 14, Paige listened to the film soundtrack of West Side Story, which evoked the desire for a career in musical theatre. Paige's musical ability was encouraged by her school music teacher, Ann Hill, whom Paige has referred to as "visionary". Paige's first role on stage was playing Susanna in a school production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which was followed by parts in The Boy Mozart and solos in Handel's Messiah; "a difficult work for little children". Her father suggested that she should go to drama school, so she attended the Aida Foster stage school. After graduating, her first job was modelling children's clothing at the Ideal Home Exhibition.
(Sourced by wikipedia.org)
Following a number of roles over the next decade, Paige was selected to play Eva Per?n in the first production of Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. The role won her the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a Musical. She went on to originate the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with "Memory", a song from the show. In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well" with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo, according to the Guinness Book of Records. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. She has also worked in film and television.
In addition to being nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, Paige has won many other awards for her theatre roles and has been called the First Lady of British Musical Theatre. She has released 20 solo albums, of which eight were consecutively certified gold and another four multi-platinum. Paige is also featured on seven cast albums and has sung in concerts across the world. Since 2004 she has hosted her own show on BBC Radio 2 called Elaine Paige on Sunday.
Paige was raised in Barnet, North London, where her father worked as an estate agent and her mother was a milliner. Her mother had been a singer in her youth, and her father was an amateur drummer. Paige stands at just under 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, which she says has caused her to lose out on leading roles. Her original ambition was to become a professional tennis player, at which point her headmistress pointed out to her "they'd never see you over the net", but Paige continued to play tennis and has referred to the sport as one of her passions.
At 14, Paige listened to the film soundtrack of West Side Story, which evoked the desire for a career in musical theatre. Paige's musical ability was encouraged by her school music teacher, Ann Hill, whom Paige has referred to as "visionary". Paige's first role on stage was playing Susanna in a school production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which was followed by parts in The Boy Mozart and solos in Handel's Messiah; "a difficult work for little children". Her father suggested that she should go to drama school, so she attended the Aida Foster stage school. After graduating, her first job was modelling children's clothing at the Ideal Home Exhibition.
(Sourced by wikipedia.org)
Elaine Paige was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom on March 5, 1948.
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