Adrienne Warren (born May 6, 1987) is an American actress, singer and dancer.[1] She made her Broadway debut in the 2012 musical Bring It On, and in 2016 received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical nomination for her performance in Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. She was also praised for her role as Tina Turner in the West End production of Tina in 2018, and for the same role in the Broadway production, for which she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2020.

Adrienne Warren
Warren at the 2022 Tony Awards
Born (1987-05-06) May 6, 1987 (age 37)
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active2009–present

Early life

edit

Warren was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is the daughter of two high school coaches. She began her performance career in church. She attended high school at the Governor's School for the Arts.[2] Warren graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2009. She performed with the groups The Dream Engine and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. She was a vocalist for the non-profit Magic-The State Of The Art.

Career

edit

Warren began her career performing in musicals The Wiz and Dreamgirls before making her Broadway debut in the musical Bring It On in 2012. In 2016, she starred in Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, for which she received Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical nomination.[3] Warren also appeared in a number of television series, including Blue Bloods, Orange Is the New Black, and Black Box.

In 2018, Warren was cast as Tina Turner in the West End production of Tina. She received critical praise for her performance as Turner and a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination.[4][5][2][6] The following year, she performed in the Broadway production, winning the 2020 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2021.[3]

In October 2020, it was announced that Warren was cast in her first television leading role in the ABC limited series Women of the Movement playing activist Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till.[7]

In December 2020, Warren narrated the audiobook of Tina Turner's memoir Happiness Becomes You, which was released by the Simon & Schuster imprint Atria Books.[8]

In September 2021, Warren was cast in the epic film The Woman King starring Viola Davis. Inspired by true events from the 18th and 19th centuries Kingdom of Dahomey in Africa, Warren plays a warrior.[9]

Work

edit

Theatre

edit
Year Title Role Venue Ref.
2009 The Wiz Ensemble City Center, Encores! production [10]
2009–10 Dreamgirls Lorell Robinson Touring Production [11]
2011–12 Bring It On Danielle National Tour
St. James Theatre, Broadway Debut
[11][4]
2016 Shuffle Along Gertrude Saunders
Florence Mills
Music Box Theatre, Broadway [12]
2018 Tina Tina Turner Aldwych Theatre, West End [13]
2019–21 Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway [14]
2025 The Last Five Years Cathy Hiatt Hudson Theatre, Broadway [15]

Film

edit
Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2022 The Woman King Ode
2023 Rustin Claudia Taylor

Television

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Blue Bloods Rachel Manning Episode: "Ends and Means"
2013 Orange Is the New Black Dina Episode: "Bora Bora Bora"
2013 People in New Jersey Nina Television pilot
2014 Black Box Carrie Waylan Episode: "Sweet Lies Lies"
2014 Irreversible Waitress Television pilot
2015 Point of Honor Abby Television pilot
2015 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Maternity Episode: "Paid Family Leave"
2016 Royal Pains Wedding Guest Episode: "The Good News Is..."
2017 Quantico Malory Haynes Episode: "MOCKINGBIRD"
2017 Perfect Citizen Ingrid Tate Television pilot
2017 The Tap Nia Murphey Television pilot
2022 Women of the Movement Mamie Till-Mobley Lead role
2023 Black Cake Benny Bennett Lead role

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Category Work Result
2016 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed Nominated
2018 Evening Standard Theatre Award[16] Best Musical Performance Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Nominated
Stage Debut Award[17] Best West End Debut Nominated
BroadwayWorld UK Award[18] Best Actress in a New Production of a Musical Nominated
2019 Laurence Olivier Award[19] Best Actress in a Musical Nominated
WhatsOnStage Award[20] Best Actress in a Musical Nominated
2020 Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical Won
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical Honoree

References

edit
  1. ^ Kumar, Naveen (30 October 2019). "From Annie to Tina Turner, and Trained to Go the Distance". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  2. ^ a b Hennemuth, Britt (29 April 2020). "Broadway Star Adrienne Warren Is Still Simply the Best". Vanity Fair.
  3. ^ a b "Adrienne Warren – Broadway Cast & Staff". www.ibdb.com.
  4. ^ a b "Adrienne Warren Biography | Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com". Broadway.com.
  5. ^ Billington, Michael (April 17, 2018). "Tina review – whirlwind Turner tribute leaves you breathless". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Bahr, Sarah (October 16, 2020). "Adrienne Warren: 'I Needed a Break'". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 16, 2020). "Adrienne Warren To Star As Mamie Till-Mobley In ABC Limited Series 'Women of the Movement'". Deadline.
  8. ^ "Listen to Exclusive Excerpt from Tina Turner's new book Happiness Becomes You". Entertainment Weekly. December 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 27, 2021). "Fresh Off Her Tony Win, Adrienne Warren Finds Her Next Project In Viola Davis' TriStar Pic 'The Woman King'". Deadline.
  10. ^ Fitzpatrick, Felicia (June 18, 2019). "Ease On Down the Road—The Cast Reflects on The Wiz at Encores!". Playbill. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Adrienne Warren Theatre Credits". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "See Full List of 2016 Tony Award Nominations". Playbill. May 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "Adrienne Warren Tells Us What It Takes to Play Tina Turner on Broadway". theatermania.com. November 7, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  14. ^ Libbey, Peter (October 15, 2020). "Full List of the 2020 Tony Award Nominees". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Lang, Brent (2024-06-16). "Nick Jonas, Adrienne Warren Starring on Broadway in 'The Last Five Years'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  16. ^ "Read the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  17. ^ "Stage Debut Awards 2018 – Winners". WestEndTheatre.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  18. ^ Swain, Marianka (October 22, 2018). "Shortlist Announced For The 2018 BroadwayWorld UK Awards; Voting Now Open!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  19. ^ McPhee, Ryan (2019-03-05). "2019 Olivier Award Nominations: London's Company and Come From Away Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  20. ^ "Shortlisted nominees announced for 2019 WhatsOnStage Awards". West End Wilma. 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
edit