Career
Russell was born in London, grew up in Dundee, and attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School.
Russell began her career playing Fantine in Les Misérables and performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for the first portion of her career. Plays there included The Beggar's Opera as Lucy Lockit in April 1992 and again in April 1993 at the Barbican Centre. She also appeared in the RSC production of Alan Ayckbourn's Wildest Dreams at the Barbican in December 1993.
From 1990 to 1992 she played one of the lead characters, Maggie Lomax, in primetime BBC TV comedy On the Up. She also sang the theme song to Red Dwarf.
She performed in three shows at The Bridewell Theatre: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Daisy (January 2000), Hello Again (March 2001) and a concert, The Cutting Edge in June 2000. Other stage work includes Tracey Lord in High Society at Sheffield Crucible, Young Sally in Follies at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1987, Bertrande in Martin Guerre at the West End’s Prince Edward theatre (1998), Felicity in Landslide at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, and Three Sisters at the Royal Court.
She left the cast of Songs For a New World during rehearsal in order to play Deborah Gilder in the television series Born and Bred in 2002 through 2005.
In 2005 she appeared as the Floor Manager in the Doctor Who episodes "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways". Also in 2005, she played the lead role of Sarah Brown in the West End production of Guys and Dolls opposite (at various times) Ewan McGregor, Nigel Harman, Sarah Lancashire, Jane Krakowski, and Nigel Lindsay. She received a nomination for the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for this role. In 2006, she took over from Anna-Jane Casey as Dot/Marie in the London revival of Sunday in the Park with George, by Stephen Sondheim for which she won the 2007 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
She subsequently played Amy alongside Felicity Kendal in the West End revival of the play Amy's View in 2006. In 2008, Russell reprised her role as Dot in the Broadway transfer of Sunday in the Park with George. The production opened on February 21, 2008 and ran until June 29, 2008 at Studio 54. Russell won the Theatre World Award and received Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical, losing to Patti LuPone.
In 2009 she appeared in the inaugural episode of the resurrected TV series "Minder" as Petra.
Russell has appeared in Into the Woods twice. For the Donmar Warehouse production in 1998, she played Cinderella. For the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2010, she plays the role of the Baker's Wife.
Russell will take to the London stage again at the Soho Theatre in Soho Cinders - previewing from 2nd August 2012.
Her next London stage role is as Mary in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory - opening in November 2012.
Read more about this topic: Jenna Russell
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
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