Susan McFadden (born 8 February 1983) is an Irish actress and singer. She is best known for playing the roles of Sandy in '' Grease'' and Elle Woods in '' Legally Blonde the Musical'' in London's West End and being a member of Celtic Woman from 2012 to 2018.

Early life

Susan McFadden was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1983, to parents Mairead and Brendan. She is the younger sister of former

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

member Brian McFadden.

Career

McFadden is a graduate of the Billie Barry Stage School, located in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. She toured with many Irish entertainers (including June Rodgers) in supporting roles. She was one of the dancers in Daniel O'Donnell's Rock & Roll Show tour and DVD. She also played the role of Kathy in an Irish production of '' Singing in the Rain'' in 2004 to much acclaim. The show played at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and the Everyman Palace Theatre in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. She was the winning contestant on the ITV reality TV show '' Grease Is the Word''. As a result, she played the lead female role of

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

in the West End production of '' Grease'' with Danny Bayne beginning in August 2007. In 2008, McFadden recorded two songs 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. She played the lead role of Milly in the 2008 UK tour of ''

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 ...

'', opposite Steven Houghton. McFadden sang with Ben Morris and Séan Carey in the final of

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

's '' Fame: The Musical'' in Dublin on Sunday 13 June 2010. McFadden starred in the original West End cast of the musical '' Legally Blonde'' 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 ...

in London's West End playing Elle Woods after originating the role of Serena. Official reviews and audience reaction were extremely positive. Beginning on 25 October, McFadden became the alternate Elle, performing Mondays and Tuesdays. McFadden began playing the role of Elle Woods full-time beginning 10 January 2011 and left the role on 9 July 2011 and has been nominated for a WhatsOnStage award for "best takeover". She was subsequently replaced by former Margot and understudy Elle Carley Stenson.

Celtic Woman

On 5 January 2012, McFadden was named as a replacement for Lisa Kelly, then going on maternity leave, in the all-female ensemble Celtic Woman. McFadden debuted with Celtic Woman in February at Nashville, Tennessee, for the kickoff of the "Believe" North American Tour and continued with the European, Australian, and South African Tours in 2012. After Kelly announced her departure from the group was permanent in January 2013, McFadden became a full-time member of Celtic Woman. She toured with the group for six and a half years. On 12 August 2018, it was announced that McFadden would be taking leave from the group to have her first child. In October 2019, Susan rejoined Celtic Woman for a few shows filling in for Mairéad Carlin while she recovered from appendicitis. On 22 January 2020, it was announced that Susan would be rejoining Celtic Woman for six shows during the US Celebration tour, but the tour was postponed shortly after due to the

coronavirus 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 ...

. That tour eventually took place in the spring of 2022, and Susan fulfilled her promised six-show commitment. She also rejoined for the recording of "Postcards from Ireland" as well as the Postcards from Ireland Tour.

Personal life

McFadden is married to Celtic Woman's former bagpiper Anthony Byrne. Their first child was born November 2018, and a second child was born in May 2021.

Discography

; With Celtic Woman * '' Emerald: Musical Gems'' (2014) * '' O Christmas Tree'' (2014) * ''Celtic Woman Presents Solo'' (May 2015) * ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' (2015) * '' Voices of Angels'' (2016) * '' The Best of Christmas'' (2017) * '' Homecoming: Live from Ireland'' (2018) * ''Celebration: 15 Years of Music and Magic'' (2020) * ''Postcards from Ireland'' (2021) ; Other featured performances * ''Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange'' (November 2008)

Filmography

* '' Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas'' (October 2013) * '' Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems'' (February 2014) * '' Celtic Woman: Destiny'' (October 2015) * '' Celtic Woman: Homecoming Live from Ireland'' (January 2018) * '' Celtic Woman: Postcards from Ireland'' (January 2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Susan Celtic Woman members Irish musical theatre actresses Living people Actresses from Dublin (city) Reality casting show winners 1983 births