Courtney Bowman (born 1 February 1995) is an English stage actress and singer. She originated the role of Fatimah in ''

Everybody's Talking About Jamie ''Everybody's Talking About Jamie'' is a Musical theatre, stage musical centred around a coming-of-age story, with score by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by the 2011 British television documentar ...

'' at the

Crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

and

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. She played

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

in ''

Six 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

'' at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...

, Lyric Theatre and

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

and

Elle Woods Elle Woods is a fictional character created by Amanda Brown in her 2001 novel '' Legally Blonde''. Woods is known for her blonde hair and bubbly personality, and was received by many audiences as an inspiring character and "feminist icon". The ch ...

in ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victo ...

'' at the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London, established in 1932. Originally known for its Shakespearean productions, the theatre now features a wide variety of performances, including musicals, ope ...

. Bowman is currently starring as Lauren in the UK Tour of '' Kinky Boots''. On television, she appears in the

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

revival of ''

Big Cook, Little Cook ''Big Cook, Little Cook'' is a British children's television series created by Adrian Hedley for BBC television. The programme is set in the kitchen of a café, with two chef characters: Big Cook Ben and Little Cook Small. CBeebies aired repea ...

'' (2022) as Little Cook Small.

Early life

Bowman was born and raised in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at ...

, England. She is dual-heritage, being half

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

an and describes herself as Afro-European. Bowman attended

Boston High School Boston High School, also known as ''Boston High School for Girls'', is a selective grammar school and sixth form college for girls aged 11 to 18 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The school's sixth form has been coeducational since 1992. A 201 ...

from eleven to eighteen. She then went on to train at the

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Overview The school is part of the University of Surrey ...

for three years until she graduated in 2016. Bowman also performed at the 10th annual Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year competition held at the

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

on 15 May 2016, she won the award and £1,000 after performing “Me and My Town” from ''

Anyone Can Whistle ''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town ...

'' and “The Driving Lesson” from ''Heart of Winter'' by Tim Connor.

Career

Bowman performed at both Josh Groban on Stage in 2015 as a chorister and at

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English Pop music, pop singer who won the The X Factor (British series 10), tenth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a c ...

's 2016 concert Sam Bailey: In Concert as a soloist. She is currently a client of Belfield & Ward Talent Agency. In November 2016, Bowman was announced as part of the original cast of ''

'' playing at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

during its original string of performances the following year. It was announced in late-June 2017 that Bowman would return in the same role for its West End transfer in late 2017 following its successful run in

. Whilst performing the role of Fatimah in ''

'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, a professionally filmed version of the musical, featuring Bowman, was broadcast into more than 600 cinemas worldwide. It was initially administered by entertainment event cinema distributor ''More 2 Screen'' on 5 July 2018, while encore screenings took place on 29 January and 13 June 2019. In June 2019, it was announced via Pearson Casting, that alongside

Danielle Steers Danielle Lauren Steers (born 20 June 1991) is an English stage actress and singer-songwriter. She is known for originating the role of Zahara in '' Bat Out of Hell: The Musical'' at the Manchester Opera House, as well as subsequently playing the ...

, Bowman would join the cast of ''Six'' on 15 October 2019. From 2019 to 2021, Bowman played

as part of the principal cast of the West End production of ''

''. Bowman returned to ''Six'' when it opened at the Lyric Theatre after having closed for the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. From late September 2021, she moved to the

where she would complete her ''Six'' run; her final performance took place on 14 November 2021. Bowman performed a solo concert at

Pizza Express PizzaExpress (Restaurants) Limited, trading as Pizza Express (also called Pizza Marzano or Milano), is a British multinational pizza restaurant chain. It has over 500 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, ...

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

on 15 March 2020 and a socially distanced recorded concert at the

on 7 September 2020. She also appeared in two drive-in concerts, a collaborative concert at the

Turbine Theatre The Turbine Theatre was a commercial theatre on the banks of the River Thames at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, which opened in 2019. The theatre was established as part of the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. The inaug ...

within the

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of ...

complex, and a charity concert at the Actor's Church,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

. In April 2021, Bowman portrayed Princess Badroulbadour in an online production of ''Disenchanted!'', produced by ''stream.theatre''. In mid-February 2022, it was announced Bowman would star in a 50 episode revival series of the pre-school cookery show ''

'' as Little Cook Small on

, airing daily from 28 February 2022. In March 2022, it was announced exclusively via

WhatsOnStage WhatsOnStage is a UK-based theatre website providing news, reviews, interviews, and a comprehensive listings database of performances across the country. The platform claims to list over 5,000 performances at any given time and also operates a tick ...

that Bowman would portray the leading role of

in the revival of ''Legally Blonde'' at

. In an interview with ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' she recounts how the production is distinct from other iterations of the musical, citing subtle differences to the script and lyrics in order for the production to align itself with the present day. She also starred in a revival concert version of '' Kinky Boots'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

in August 2022, portraying the role of Lauren. In late-September it was revealed Bowman would be attending the first-ever ''MusicalCon'' fan convention taking place at London's ExCel Centre on 22–23 October 2022. It was announced in October 2022 via the

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

social channels, that Bowman would host the annual UK Theatre Awards at the

Guildhall, London Guildhall is a municipal building in the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The current building dates from the 15th century; however documentary evidence suggests that a ...

that same month on 23 October 2022. It was announced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions in late-October 2022, that Bowman would portray the supporting role of Kit de Luca in the West End production of ''Pretty Woman: The Musical'' playing 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 ...

from mid-November 2022. Bowman hosted the

2023 WhatsOnStage Awards The WhatsOnStage Awards, founded in 2001 as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are a fan-driven set of awards organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com, based on a popular vote recognising performers and productions of English theatre, with ...

alongside

Laurie Kynaston Laurence Stephen Kynaston (born 24 February 1994) is a Welsh actor. He won an ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award for his performance in '' The Son'', as well as receiving a WhatsOnStage Award nomination. On television, he starred in the BBC Two ...

and her ''

'' co-star Billy Luke Nevers on 12 February 2023 at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

. That evening, she also won the first gender-neutral WhatsOnStage Award for ''Best Performer in a Musical'' for her performance as

in ''

'' at ''

''. In their speech, she thanked her mother, best friend and cast of ''

.'' In September 2023, it was announced Courtney would star in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

's annual

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, a production of

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

, playing at the

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a The Stage Awards, Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust ...

as the Spirit of the Ring. This ran from November 2023 to January 2024, and earnt Bowman a nomination for 'Best Magical Being' at The Pantomime Awards, in association with Stagecoach Performing Arts, Stagecoach. In April 2024, Courtney took part in the 10th anniversary concert of the musical ''Cool Rider'' at The London Palladium, adapted from the 1982 film ''Grease 2'', and portrayed the role of Sharon. Courtney Bowman - Elle Woods

Stage

Filmography

Television

Radio

Podcast

Awards and nominations

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Courtney Living people 1995 births 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Actresses from Lincolnshire Black British actresses English musical theatre actresses English stage actresses Musicians from Lincolnshire Actors from Boston, Lincolnshire