Laura Benanti
Tony® Award-winner and five-time Tony® Award nominee Laura Benanti is a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. Benanti can most recently be seen in Amy Schumer's Life & Beth (2022), which premiered on Hulu on March 18. The series follows Beth (Schumer) whose life changes forever following a sudden incident when she is forced to engage with her past. Through flashbacks to her teen self, Beth starts to learn how she became who she is and who she wants to become. We'll go on her journey towards building a bigger, bolder and more authentic life. Learning to express herself and living in an intentional way. A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward. Benanti stars as Beth's mother and plays a pivotal role in Beth's life and who she is today.
She can currently be seen in HBO Max's Gossip Girl (2021) reboot and in Netflix's What Is Life Worth (2020) starring opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Amy Ryan, for which she's received significant praise, with Deadline hailing her performance as "awards-worthy." Based on true events, Worth is a moving reminder of the power of empathy and the value of human connection, with Benanti's character at the crux. Additionally, Benanti reprised her role in the final season of the hit TV series Younger (2015) which premiered April 2021, starred opposite Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish in the comedy film Here Today (2021) which was released May 2021, and appeared in Lin-Manuel Miranda's awards-favorite, tick, tick...BOOM! (2021), the adaptation of the autobiographical Off-Broadway show written by Jonathan Larson (Rent).
Benanti's other credits include appearing as a guest star on the Showtime series Cinema Toast (2021) created by Jeff Baena and produced by the Duplass Brothers as well as the highly anticipated variety show ZIWE (2021) featuring comedian Ziwe Fumudoh. Additionally, Benanti created and executive produced the HBO Max special, Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020 (2020), co-authored a children's board book M is for MAMA (and also Merlot): A Modern Mom's ABC's, co-written with Metropolitan Opera Star Kate Mangiameli and released a self-titled studio album for Sony Music Masterworks. The album is comprised of contemporary covers, jazz influenced torch songs and comedic takes on beloved favorites.