Louise Plowright is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic

Bristol Old Vic

The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...

 Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper

Julie Cooper (EastEnders)

Julie Cooper is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Louise Plowright from 1989-1990. The character was one of Mike Gibbon's introductions, but she was axed in 1990 at the start of Michael Ferguson's reign as executive producer...

 in the television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 EastEnders

EastEnders

EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

from 1989 to 1990.

Subsequent major roles on TV include Linda Harvey in Families

Families (TV series)

Families was a daytime soap opera produced by Granada Television and created by Kay Mellor. It followed two families; the Thompsons, based in Cheshire, England , and the Stevens, living in Sydney, Australia....

and Michelle Thorn in Footballers' Wives: Extra Time

Footballers' Wives: Extra Time

Footballers' Wives: Extra Time is a British drama programme. A spin-off of Footballers' Wives, the programme aired on ITV2 for two series...

.

As a stage singer-actress she has appeared in a number of regional and touring productions of musicals, where her roles have included: April in Hot Shoe Shuffle, Julie Johnston in Bad Girls - The Musical, and, Phyllis Rogers Stone in Follies

Follies

Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...

, and most recently Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were written by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams.-Productions:...

 amongst others. Numerous West End Concert Performances including 'Living On An Island' at The Talk Of London. She has also appeared in various regional theatre pantomimes. In the summer of 2009 she appeared in Oklahoma!

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...

 at the Chichester Festival Theatre

Chichester Festival Theatre

Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....

 as Aunt Eller, and the following autumn in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 in White Christmas (musical)

White Christmas (musical)

White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin...

. She is currently performing, to rave reviews, in at the Chichester Festival Theatre's revival of 42nd Street

42nd Street

42nd Street may refer to:*42nd Street *42nd Street **"Forty-Second Street", title song from the film*42nd Street -New York City Subway:...

.

She made her West End theatre debut in 1999, originating the role of Tanya in the hit musical Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...

, the following year she was promoted to the leading role of Donna, which she played for four years.

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