# Kelli O'Hara
**Kelli O'Hara** (born 1976) is an American actress and soprano who has worked primarily on Broadway, winning the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical as [Anna Leonowens](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-leonowens) in the revival of *The King and I*[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331). Her official biography counts twelve Broadway shows and eight Tony Award nominations, along with Emmy, SAG, and Grammy nominations[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography). She has also crossed into opera at the [Metropolitan Opera](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolitan-opera) and into television on HBO's *The Gilded Age*[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Elk City, Oklahoma; reared in Elk City, a product of Deer Creek schools[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331) • [3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016) |
| Training | Degree in opera from Oklahoma City University; won the State Metropolitan Opera Competition in 1998; then studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016) |
| Broadway record | Twelve Broadway shows, eight Tony Award nominations[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography) |
| Tony win | 2015, Best Leading Actress in a Musical, *The King and I*[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331) |
| Met Opera debut | 2015, *The Merry Widow* opposite Renée Fleming; returned in 2018 as Despina in *Così fan tutte*[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography) |
| Screen work | Emmy-nominated as Katie Bonner in *The Accidental Wolf*; Aurora Fane on HBO's *The Gilded Age*[4](https://www.bso.org/profiles/kelli-ohara) |
| Recordings | Solo albums *Always* and *Wonder in the World* on Ghostlight Records; two Grammy nominations[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography) |
## Training and early career
O'Hara grew up in Elk City, Oklahoma, and earned a degree in opera from [Oklahoma City University](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city-university), where her voice teacher was Florence Birdwell, a professor of voice there from 1946 to 2014 who also taught [Kristin Chenoweth](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristin-chenoweth)[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016) • [5](https://manuals.plus/m/1038e1b5760b310e1b2e101f7860e24cdafa6b3f7270384f21f71755fb56118c.pdf). Having taken first place in the 1998 State Metropolitan Opera Competition, she relocated to New York City, where she pursued acting studies at the Lee Strasberg Institute[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016).
Her Broadway debut came in *Jekyll & Hyde*, where she appeared in the ensemble and understudied the roles of Emma and Nellie before taking over the role of Emma Carew in 2000[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331). She followed with Sondheim's *Follies*, *Sweet Smell of Success* opposite [John Lithgow](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lithgow), and *Dracula*[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016).
## Breakthrough and Broadway leading roles
**The Light in the Piazza.** In 2003 O'Hara committed to a production of *The Light in the Piazza* at Seattle's Intiman Theatre; the show reached Broadway in 2005 and earned her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, in the featured actress category, for her performance as Clara Johnson[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331).
She then joined [Harry Connick Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-connick-jr) in the 2006 Tony-winning revival of *The Pajama Game* as Babe Williams, receiving Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016). In the 2008 [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center) revival of *South Pacific* she played Ensign Nellie Forbush, again collecting Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics nominations[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016). Later Broadway roles included Billie Bendix opposite [Matthew Broderick](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-broderick) in *Nice Work If You Can Get It* (2012), Francesca in the musical adaptation of *The Bridges of Madison County* (2014), and Lilli Vanessi in the Roundabout revival of *Kiss Me, Kate* (2019), each bringing further Tony nominations[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331).
**The King and I.** For playing Anna Leonowens in Bartlett Sher's praised Lincoln Center staging of *The King and I*, performed between April 2015 and June 2016, she earned the 2015 Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical, plus nominations from the Grammys, Drama League, Outer Critics, and Oliviers[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331). *Time* described the moment of her win, after many previous nominations without a trophy, as perhaps the most joyful of the evening, met with a standing ovation; she announced "I'm going to do the worm" and danced off stage[6](https://time.com/3912074/2015-tony-awards-tonys-recap/). The same magazine's season preview had called her "probably the finest singing actress of her generation"[7](https://time.com/3899477/broadways-brilliant-season/). She reprised the role in a West End debut and performed a limited engagement at Tokyo's Orb Theatre[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
**Days of Wine and Roses.** O'Hara starred as Kirsten Arnesen in the new Adam Guettel musical *Days of Wine and Roses*, first [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) at the [Atlantic Theater Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-theater-company) in 2023 and then in a limited Broadway engagement at [Studio 54](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-54) in 2024[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331). For the role she won the 2024 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award, with Tony and Drama League nominations[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331) • [2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
In 2026 she received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for the revival *Fallen Angels*, in which she played Julia Sterroll opposite [Rose Byrne](https://www.edgepedia.org/rose-byrne)[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331). She has also appeared Off-Broadway as Regan in *King Lear* at [The Public Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-public-theater) and in the world premiere of *This World of Tomorrow* opposite [Tom Hanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hanks)[8](https://www.kelliohara.com/kelliohararesume) • [2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
## Opera
In 2015 O'Hara made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Valencienne in Franz Lehár's *The Merry Widow* opposite [Renée Fleming](https://www.edgepedia.org/renee-fleming); her official biography describes this as making her the first artist to make the crossover from Broadway to opera at the Met[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography). She returned in 2018 as Despina in Mozart's *Così fan tutte*, and later appeared at the Met in the world premiere of Kevin Puts's *The Hours* as Laura Brown, a recording that earned a Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography). CBS News profiled the move, noting her "sweet soprano voice, interpretive gifts and open-hearted personality" in the operetta[9](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kelli-ohara-musical-comedy-star-finding-success-in-opera/). She has described her technique as fundamentally similar across genres, differing mainly "because of the size of the room"[10](https://www.uromivoice.com/2024/01/29/kelli-ohara-challenges-you-to-put-your-phone-away-and-feel/).
## Screen and concert work
O'Hara received an Emmy Award nomination, for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series in 2018, for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in Topic's web series *The Accidental Wolf*[4](https://www.bso.org/profiles/kelli-ohara) • [8](https://www.kelliohara.com/kelliohararesume). She plays Aurora Fane on HBO's *The Gilded Age*, whose second-season cast earned a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series[4](https://www.bso.org/profiles/kelli-ohara). Other credits include *Masters of Sex*, *13 Reasons Why*, *The Good Fight*, *All the Bright Places*, *Peter Pan Live!*, and *Sex and the City 2*[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
She is a frequent performer on PBS live telecasts and the Kennedy Center Honors, and appears often with the New York Philharmonic and the New York Pops[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography). A 2010 Washington Post review of her Kennedy Center Terrace Theater concert noted her classically trained, "pretty big soprano" used "impressively but selectively" across a 75-minute set[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2010/10/18/kelli-ohara-sparkling-controlled-in-voice-and-presence/12824196-0022-4db4-a53c-3b29fb413231/). Her solo albums *Always* and *Wonder in the World* are on Ghostlight Records[2](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography).
## Recognition and legacy
O'Hara was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2016, where her citation called her "a leading cultural ambassador for our state"[3](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016). Oklahoma's statewide high school musical theater awards program bears her name, the Kelli O'Hara Awards, which adjudicates student performances in acting, vocal, and movement categories and names top finalists in leading-role and ensemble divisions[12](https://www.okcbroadway.com/kellis-adjudication). Upcoming engagements announced on her website include a Café Carlyle run in December 2026 and a joint concert with Sutton Foster and the Naples Philharmonic in January 2027[13](https://www.kelliohara.com/).
## References
1. [Kelli O'Hara – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kelli-ohara-81331)
2. [Biography, Kelli O'Hara official website](https://www.kelliohara.com/kellioharabiography)
3. [Kelli O'Hara, Class of 2016, Oklahoma Hall of Fame](https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/ohara-kelli-2016)
4. [Kelli O'Hara, Boston Symphony Orchestra profile](https://www.bso.org/profiles/kelli-ohara)
5. [Kelli O'Hara Naughton program biography (Florence Birdwell)](https://manuals.plus/m/1038e1b5760b310e1b2e101f7860e24cdafa6b3f7270384f21f71755fb56118c.pdf)
6. [Triumphs for Women and British Plays in the 2015 Tony Awards, Time](https://time.com/3912074/2015-tony-awards-tonys-recap/)
7. [Broadway's Brilliant Season, Time](https://time.com/3899477/broadways-brilliant-season/)
8. [Resume, Kelli O'Hara official website](https://www.kelliohara.com/kelliohararesume)
9. [Musical comedy star Kelli O'Hara finding success in opera, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kelli-ohara-musical-comedy-star-finding-success-in-opera/)
10. [Kelli O'Hara Challenges You to Put Your Phone Away and Feel, Uromi Voice](https://www.uromivoice.com/2024/01/29/kelli-ohara-challenges-you-to-put-your-phone-away-and-feel/)
11. [Kelli O'Hara: Sparkling, controlled in voice and presence, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2010/10/18/kelli-ohara-sparkling-controlled-in-voice-and-presence/12824196-0022-4db4-a53c-3b29fb413231/)
12. [Kelli O'Hara Awards Adjudication Process, OKC Broadway](https://www.okcbroadway.com/kellis-adjudication)
13. [Home, Kelli O'Hara official website](https://www.kelliohara.com/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Theater traditions by region › Theater of the Americas › Broadway theatre*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license