Emily Skeggs (born July 10, 1990) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality featured roles in a ...

in 2015 for playing the role of Medium Alison in '' Fun Home''.Clarke, David
BWW "Interview: Emily Skeggs Talks 'Fun Home' 's Humor and Universal Relatability"
broadwayworld.com, March 27, 2015, accessed April 30, 2015

Early life and education

She was born in New York City, the daughter of Susan (née Casserly) and Gary Skeggs. Her father is a graphic designer, and her mother works in business. Skeggs graduated from

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia or "LaG", is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, near Lincoln ...

in 2008 and from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

in 2012 with a degree in theatre and minor in writing. She wrote a play when she was six years old titled ''Star Girl'', which was performed at her school. At LaGuardia she played the role of Oolie/Donna in '' City of Angels'', in a cast that included

Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. S ...

. At Emerson, she played Lady Macbeth in ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', Hero in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', and Maid Marian in ''Robin Hood''.

Career

Skeggs played Muriel in ''Take Me Along'' at the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Irish Rep in 2008. The production was nominated for the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Revival. That year she also performed in the musical ''Ripcords'' at the New York International Fringe Festival in August. Skeggs played Rebecca in the Huntington Theatre Company (Boston, Massachusetts) production of ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'' in December 2012. She returned to the Irish Rep in 2014 in the musical ''Transport'', in which she played "Polly Cantwell". Also in 2014, she appeared in the Signature Theatre Company's production of ''And I and Silence'' as Young Dee. Skeggs was the understudy in the Off-Broadway production of ''Fun Home'' in 2013 for the roles of Joan and Medium Alison. She replaced Alexandra Socha (who departed the show for personal reasons) in the role of Medium Alison in November 2013. She reprised this role for 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 Stre ...

production in 2015, when she made her Broadway debut. Skeggs was nominated for the

, and received a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for her performance. In 2017, she played the role of activist Roma Guy (when young) in ABC's miniseries '' When We Rise'' (2017). The eight-part series is about the LGBT civil rights movement in the United States over several decades. Skeggs starred in the critically acclaimed comedy '' Dinner in America'', which premiered at Sundance in 2020. She earned praise for her performance opposite Kyle Gallner. The film developed a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

in 2024 after it was rediscovered and gained popularity on TikTok, particularly for her rendition of the film's original song "Watermelon".

Credits

Theatre

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skeggs, Emily 1990 births American stage actresses Living people Actresses from New York City 21st-century American actresses Emerson College alumni Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni American musical theatre actresses Theatre World Award winners