Jessie Mueller
Stage actress Jessie Mueller rose from productions in her native Chicago to her show-stopping, Tony-winning turn as Carole King in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." Born Jessica Ruth Mueller in Evanston, Illinois, she came from a family of actors: her parents, Roger and Jill Mueller, and siblings Andrew, Matt and Abby were all regular performers on the Chicago theater circuit and later, the New York stage. All four Mueller children began acting in Illinois regional theater before pursuing their individual paths; Jessie studied at Syracuse University and began her professional career in Chicago productions of "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Guys and Dolls" and other musicals. The year 2011 proved to be the starting point for her rise to stardom: after claiming two Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and the Actor of the Year laurel from the Chicago Tribune, Mueller was cast as the female lead in a Broadway revival of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" opposite Harry Connick, Jr. Though the show proved short-lived, she earned her first Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress. More showcase productions soon followed, including "Into the Woods" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" on Broadway, both in 2012. After replacing Kelli O'Hara" in "Nice Work If You Can Get It" the following year, Mueller was cast as singer/songwriter Carole King in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," which opened on Broadway in 2014. Her performance won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award, and she shared the Grammy for Best Musical Theater album with King herself in 2015. After leaving "Beautiful" that same year, Mueller returned to Broadway in 2016 as the star of "Waitress," a musical adaptation of the 2007 feature film, with music and lyrics by pop singer Sarah Bareilles.