Jennifer Diane Powers (born August 29, 1979) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of

Miss Illinois The Miss Illinois is a pageant program affiliated with Miss America, which is competition for women models representing the state of Illinois. The first "Miss Illinois" sent to the national pageant was Lois Delander who subsequently won the Mis ...

in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

'' and '' Grease''.

Early life

Powers was raised in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

, and attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

,Winograd, Ben
"Miss Illinois taking a break from class at NU"
dailynorthwestern.com, September 18, 2000 where she earned a bachelor's degree. She was a member of the Upsilon chapter of

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity. It was founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. History File:S ...

. Powers is the granddaughter of

David Powers David Francis Powers (April 25, 1912 – March 28, 1998) was Special Assistant and assistant Appointments Secretary to U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Powers served as Museum Curator of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum from 1964 until his ...

(1912–1998), who served as Special Assistant to President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and later served as Curator of the

John F. Kennedy Library and Museum The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborh ...

from 1964 until his retirement in May 1994. David Powers, a close personal friend of Kennedy, rode in the Dallas motorcade when he was assassinated. Power has a sister, Jacqueline, and a brother, David III. Her father, David Powers, Jr, is an attorney. Her mother, Mary Ellen (Dee) Powers is a Professor of Nursing.

Beauty pageant

In 2000, Jenny Powers was crowned

. She went on to win the talent competition during the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

competition. An ardent Democrat, she was asked by Massachusetts Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

to sing the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

during the 2000

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

Stage career

Powers appeared on

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 ...

as Meg, the eldest March sister, in ''

'', the musical version of the novel ''

'' in 2005. She garnered critical accolades for her performance as Diana Devereaux in May 2006 during an

Encores! Encores! is a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving United States, American Musical theatre, musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, E ...

series production of ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for Preside ...

''. In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Charles Isherwood Charles Splaine Isherwood Jr. (born October 1964) is an American theater critic. Career A graduate of Stanford University, Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of '' Variety'', where he was promote ...

wrote Powers "gives a breakthrough performance here as the outraged Southern belle who sashays in and out of the proceedings, quivering with outrage in her slinky red satin." Powers appeared in the 2007 revival of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's "

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

," the story of aging chorus girls confronting their past lives and unwise choices at a reunion.

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...

, ''The New York Times'' chief theater critic wrote: ..."you believe in the connections between these characters and their younger selves, who are embodied by a first-rate team of newcomers: Jenny Powers, Colin Donnell, Katie Claus and Curtis Holbrook." He goes on to single out the performances of

Donna Murphy Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959) is an American actress, best known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in '' Passion'' (1994–1995) ...

and Powers: "To understand what “Follies” is meant to be — and too rarely is — you need only look at Ms. Murphy’s expression when she first sees the actress owersplaying her 19-year-old self." In August 2007, Powers opened in the role of Rizzo in the Broadway revival of " Grease". The casting of the two lead roles in this revival was subject of the reality television show " Grease: You're The One That I Want:" the roles were won in March 2007 by

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, '' Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcour ...

(Sandy) and

Max Crumm Aaron Maximillian Crumm (born October 8, 1985) is an American actor and singer known for their work on the New York City stage. They have originated starring roles on Broadway in both the revival of '' Grease'' as Danny Zuko, after winning NBC's ...

(Danny). While panning the show overall, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' noted: "Jenny Powers' Rizzo seems more hard and bitter than tough and trashy but she plays it with the requisite jaded attitude and delivers the show's best song, the rueful yet unapologetic "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," with conviction."

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

theater critic,

Michael Kuchwara Michael Charlies Kuchwara (February 28, 1947 – May 22, 2010) was an American theater critic, columnist and journalist. Kuchwara worked as both a critic and journalist for the ''Associated Press'' for more than from 1984 until 2010, writing pi ...

echoed this sentiment: "Dramatic and vocal honors go to Jenny Powers as Rizzo, the quintessential tough girl who refuses to let the other Pink Ladies see her cry. Rizzo's philosophy is explained in "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," the one song in "Grease" that attempts to define character. Powers makes it work." She has appeared at

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...

, St. Louis in numerous productions, including: ''Jerome Robbins’ Broadway'' (Hildy/Monotony Singer), An Evening with the Stars, ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' (Mary Poppins), ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' (Morticia Addams), ''

Mamma Mia! Mamma mia (; an Italian interjection, literally "mommy mine"), Mammamia, Mamamia or Mumma Mia may refer to: Music Works associated with ABBA * "Mamma Mia" (ABBA song), a 1975 ABBA song * ''Mamma Mia!'' (musical), a stage play based on ABBA s ...

'' (Tanya) in 2016, ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' (Nancy), ''

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 Dor ...

'' (Milly) in 2011 and ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

'' (Guenevere). She and Cavanaugh appeared in the concert at the Muni "Muny Magic at The Sheldon" in October 2018. Powers appeared in the musical '' Little Dancer'' at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in 2014 as Antoinette and will appear in the musical (again as Antoinette Van Goethem) when it runs at the

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in the Skinner Building, in the downtown core of Seattle, Washington, United States. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building ...

, Seattle in March 2019.

Personal life

In August 2009 she married

leading man

Matt Cavenaugh William Matthew Cavenaugh (born May 31, 1978) is an American tenor and stage, film, and television actor. His most well known role was his leading performance as Tony in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''West Side Story''. Early life and educa ...

. In June 2010, she starred with Cavenaugh in a revival of the musical ''

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman ''It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman'' is a 1966 musical composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. It is based on the comic book character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Jo ...

'' at the Dallas Theater Center. The couple had a baby boy in July 2012.Gans, Andrew. They have since had another son and a daughter
"Matt Cavenaugh and Jenny Powers Welcome a Broadway Baby Boy"
''Playbill'', July 26, 2012

References

Additional sources

* USA Today Review of Greas

External links

*
Miss Illinois official website

Miss America official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Jenny 1979 births American musical theatre actresses Living people Bienen School of Music alumni People from Andover, Massachusetts Miss America 2001 delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Singers from Massachusetts