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Susan McFadden (born 8 February 1983) is an Irish actress and singer. She is best known for playing the roles of Sandy in '' Grease'' and Elle Woods in '' Legally Blonde the Musical'' in London's West End and being a member of
Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...
from 2012 to 2018.


Early life

Susan McFadden was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1983, to parents Mairead and Brendan. She is the younger sister of former
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
member
Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter who rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo ...
.


Career

McFadden is a graduate of the Billie Barry Stage School, located in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
. She toured with many Irish entertainers (including June Rodgers) in supporting roles. She was one of the dancers in Daniel O'Donnell's Rock & Roll Show tour and DVD. She also played the role of Kathy in an Irish production of ''
Singing in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charisse ...
'' in 2004 to much acclaim. The show played at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and the Everyman Palace Theatre in
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
. She was the winning contestant on the ITV reality TV show ''
Grease Is the Word ''Grease Is the Word'' is the United Kingdom version of NBC's '' Grease: You're the One That I Want!''. It aired during 2007, and was produced by Syco TV (the production company of Simon Cowell). The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bay ...
''. As a result, she played the lead female role of
Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...
in the West End production of '' Grease'' with Danny Bayne beginning in August 2007. In 2008, McFadden recorded two songs for the CD ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'', an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records. She played the lead role of Milly in the 2008 UK tour of ''
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorot ...
'', opposite Steven Houghton. McFadden sang with Ben Morris and Séan Carey in the final of
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
's '' Fame: The Musical'' in Dublin on Sunday 13 June 2010. McFadden starred in the original West End cast of the musical ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wi ...
'' at the
Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...
in London's West End playing Elle Woods after originating the role of Serena. Official reviews and audience reaction were extremely positive. Beginning on 25 October, McFadden became the alternate Elle, performing Mondays and Tuesdays. McFadden began playing the role of Elle Woods full-time beginning 10 January 2011 and left the role on 9 July 2011 and has been nominated for a WhatsOnStage award for "best takeover". She was subsequently replaced by former Margot and understudy Elle
Carley Stenson Carley Stenson (born 22 September 1982) is an English actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Steph Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and Harriet Shelton in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. For her role as Steph, ...
.


Celtic Woman

On 5 January 2012, McFadden was named as a replacement for Lisa Kelly, then going on maternity leave, in the all-female ensemble
Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...
. McFadden debuted with Celtic Woman in February at Nashville, Tennessee, for the kickoff of the "Believe" North American Tour and continued with the European, Australian, and South African Tours in 2012. After Kelly announced her departure from the group was permanent in January 2013, McFadden became a full-time member of Celtic Woman. She toured with the group for six and a half years. On 12 August 2018, it was announced that McFadden would be taking leave from the group to have her first child. In October 2019, Susan rejoined Celtic Woman for a few shows filling in for
Mairéad Carlin Mairéad Carlin is an Irish singer. She is a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman and was the first-ever member of the group that was born in Northern Ireland. Early life Carlin was born in Derry. "Derry, my hometown, is a very cultured and ...
while she recovered from appendicitis. On 22 January 2020, it was announced that Susan would be rejoining Celtic Woman for six shows during the US Celebration tour, but the tour was postponed shortly after due to the
coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. She also rejoined for the recording of "Postcards from Ireland" as well as the Postcards from Ireland Tour.


Personal life

McFadden is married to Celtic Woman's former bagpiper Anthony Byrne. Their first child, Joanie Byrne, was born November 2018. Their second child, Mikey Byrne, was born May 2021.


Discography

; With Celtic Woman * '' Emerald: Musical Gems'' (2014) * ''
O Christmas Tree "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...
'' (2014) * ''Celtic Woman Presents Solo'' (May 2015) * ''
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although ofte ...
'' (2015) * '' Voices of Angels'' (2016) * '' The Best of Christmas'' (2017) * '' Homecoming: Live from Ireland'' (2018) * ''Celebration: 15 Years of Music and Magic'' (2020) * ''Postcards from Ireland'' (2021) ; Other featured performances * ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'' (November 2008)


Filmography

* '' Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas'' (October 2013) * '' Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems'' (February 2014) * '' Celtic Woman: Destiny'' (October 2015) * '' Celtic Woman: Homecoming Live from Ireland'' (January 2018) * '' Celtic Woman: Postcards from Ireland'' (January 2022)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Susan Celtic Woman members Irish musical theatre actresses Living people Actresses from Dublin (city) Reality casting show winners 1983 births