Lilli Cooper (born March 4, 1990) is an American musical theatre

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Life and career

Cooper is the daughter of actor Chuck Cooper and Tisa Farley. Her grandfather acted at the

Karamu House Karamu House in the Fairfax, Cleveland, Fairfax neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is the oldest African-American theater in the United States opening in 1915. Many of Langston Hughes's plays were developed and premier ...

in Cleveland. She attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, graduating from the latter in 2012. She was the standby for

Elphaba Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, ''Wicked''. In the original 1900 L. Frank Baum book ''The Wonde ...

in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'', and originated the role of Martha Bessell in '' Spring Awakening''. She also played

Hélène Kuragina Princess Yelena "Hélène" Vasilyevna Kuragina (russian: Елена "Эле́н" Васи́льевна Кура́гина) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'' and its various cinematic adaptations. She is playe ...

in the American Repertory Theatre production of ''

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' (or simply ''The Great Comet'') is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70-page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'' written by composer/lyricist Dave Malloy and directed by Rache ...

'' in 2015. She originated the role of

Sandy Cheeks Sandra Jennifer "Sandy" Cheeks is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon franchise ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. She is an anthropomorphic squirrel who wears a diving suit and lives underwater. Sandy is voiced by Carolyn Lawrence and first ap ...

in the Broadway production of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'', which opened on December 4, 2017. In September 2018, Cooper played Julie Nichols in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of the 1982 film ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Ga ...

'' in its Chicago debut and reprised the role on Broadway in spring 2019, receiving a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her performance. In 2022, she played the role of Doc on '' Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock''. Also in 2022, she took part in the HBO documentary film ''Spring Awakening: Those You've Known'', which saw the 15 year reunion of the original cast of the musical. Cooper lives in New York City with her husband Paul. Their first child, a son named Bodie, was born in September 2021.

Theatre credits

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * American musical theatre actresses Actresses from New York City Living people 21st-century American actresses 1991 births Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Vassar College alumni {{US-theat-actor-stub