Linzi Hateley (born 23 October 1970) is an English stage actress. At the age of 21, in 1992, she became one of the youngest nominees for a

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre A ...

for her performance as the Narrator in the West End revival of ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

''.

Early life and acting background

Hateley was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. As a child Hateley attended Italia Conti Academy. She appeared as one of the

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

s in the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

'' Annie'' and on television in several episodes of the BBC children's series ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

''.

Acting career

Hateley's first starring role was as the title character in the ill-fated '' Carrie - The Musical'' in both its

Stratford-Upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

and Broadway runs. In London, Hateley has starred in the original London revival production of ''

'' as The Narrator (for which 21-year-old Linzi was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award), Nancy in ''

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 ...

'', Éponine and Madame Thenardier in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', Roxie Hart in ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'', Martha in the original production of ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'', and Winifred Banks in the original production of ''

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 ...

''. She also played Donna in '' Mamma Mia!'' in the Prince of Wales Theatre, from 2007–2009 and 2010. She reprised this role from on 13 June 2016 in the Novello Theatre. Hateley has released three solo albums: ''For The First Time'' (1992), ''Sooner or Later'' (1994), and ''True Colours'' (2001). In 2008 Hateley recorded a song 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. In 2012, Hateley appeared in the revival of the National Theatre's production of '' London Road'', as the character Helen. Hateley also had a small role in the ''

'' film as one of the women in "Turning". In 2021 Hateley returned to her role as the Narrator in ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

followed by a UK tour of the show in 2022. From September 2023 to March 2024 she played Fran Fraser in the world premiere of ''The Little Big Things'' at @sohoplace. In late 2024 and early 2025, she'll reprise the role of Madame Thenardier in ''

'' as a part of the Arena Concert World Tour.Lucie Jones to return to Les Miserables London as Fantine & Katie Hall, Nathania Ong, Aviva Tulley, Linzi Hateley to star in Les Mis Arena Spectacular
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hateley, Linzi 1970 births English women singers English musical theatre actresses Living people Actresses from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts