Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as
Anya/Anastasia in ''
Anastasia'', Odette in ''
The Swan Princess
''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...
'',
Jasmine in the ''Aladdin'' sequels ''
The Return of Jafar
''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...
'' and ''
Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', adult Kiara in ''
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'', and a dancing napkin ring in ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
''. She was also the original Ellen in the Broadway production of ''
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...
''.
Early life, family, and education
Callaway was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to Shirley Callaway, a singer, pianist, and vocal coach, and
John Callaway, a journalist.
Her sister is actress, composer, and singer
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''.
Career
A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...
, with whom she sang the theme song for the
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...
comedy series ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three ch ...
'', which Hampton Callaway also composed. Both sisters attended
New Trier High School (New Trier East) in
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...
.
Callaway has also appeared in a number of cabaret and stage productions with her sister. Recordings of two of them, ''Sibling Revelry'' recorded live at Rainbow and Stars in 1995 and ''Boom!'' recorded live at Birdland in 2011, have been released.
Career
Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in
Stephen Sondheim's short-lived ''
Merrily We Roll Along'' (1981). This began a long-term professional relationship with Sondheim: Callaway has performed in a number of live concerts in his honor, appeared with Sondheim on ''
Inside the Actors Studio
''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel C ...
'', and also played the role of Young Sally in the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
concert production of ''
Follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...
'' with
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
,
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...
,
George Hearn
George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.
Early years
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on ...
,
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
,
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...
,
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...
, and the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
. ''Follies'' was recorded live and also filmed as a documentary.
Additional stage credits include Lizzie in ''
Baby
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
'' (for which she earned a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
nomination), ''
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...
'', ''
The Spitfire Grill
''The Spitfire Grill'' (also known as ''Care of the Spitfire Grill'') is a 1996 American film written and directed by Lee David Zlotoff and starring Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney and Gailard Sa ...
'' (for which she earned a
Drama Desk Award nomination), ''
Sunday in the Park with George'', ''
Evita'', ''
Cats'', and ''Miss Saigon''. Liz also performed in ''
The Look of Love'', a 2003 musical revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Callaway also had her own children's television show on WNEV-TV in Boston, ''Ready to Go'', which ran from 1987 to 1991, winning her an Emmy Award. She left this series to begin rehearsals for ''Miss Saigon'' on Broadway.
In July 2012, she starred as Norma Desmond in the
Pittsburgh CLO's new production of
''Sunset Boulevard''
Callaway has also provided the singing voices for a number of animated characters, including Anya/Anastasia in ''
Anastasia'',
Kiara in ''
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'',
Princess Jasmine
Princess Jasmine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film ''Aladdin'' (1992). Voiced by American actress Linda Larkin with a singing voice provided by Filipina singer Lea Salonga Jasmine is the s ...
in ''
The Return of Jafar
''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...
'' and ''
Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', and Princess Odette in ''
The Swan Princess
''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...
''.
She has performed various cabaret acts at
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...
, Rainbow and Stars, the
Russian Tea Room
The Russian Tea Room is an Art Deco Russo-Continental restaurant, located at 150 West 57th Street (between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue), between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower, in the New York City borough of Manhattan ...
,
54 Below
54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...
, and Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...
in London, among other venues.
Callaway's solo recordings include ''Anywhere I Wander'' (1993), ''The Story Goes On'' (1995), and ''The Beat Goes On'' (2001). She released her fourth recording, ''Passage of Time'', for the record label
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin.
Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...
, on October 20, 2009, which featured an appearance with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway. In 2015 she released an album of songs from her most recognized work, ''The Essential Liz Callaway''.
Liz was honored at the 25th Annual
Bistro Awards
''Backstage'', also previously written as ''Back Stage'', is an American entertainment industry trade publication. Founded by Allen Zwerdling and Ira Eaker in 1960, it covers the film and performing arts industry from the perspective of performer ...
in New York City.
Personal life
Liz married theatre director and producer Dan Foster in 1985, a founding producer of the Hudson Stage Company, a nonprofit, professional theatre company in residence at
Pace University
Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...
in
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
.
They have a son.
Filmography
Film
Television
Discography
* ''Anywhere I Wander'' (
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
) (September 28, 1993)
* ''Sibling Revelry'' (
DRG, 1996) with Ann Hampton Callaway
* ''The Story Goes On'' (Varèse Sarabande) (August 29, 1995)
* ''The Beat Goes On'' (Varèse Sarabande) (May 15, 2001)
* ''Passage of Time'' (
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin.
Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...
) (October 20, 2009)
* ''Boom! Live at Birdland'' (PS Classics, 2011) with Ann Hampton Callaway
* ''Merry and Bright'' (2013)
* ''Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas)'' (Working Girl Records) (December 4, 2020)
References
External links
Official website*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaway, Liz
American stage actresses
American women singers
American musical theatre actresses
American sopranos
American voice actresses
New Trier High School alumni
Actresses from Chicago
1961 births
Living people
21st-century American women