Sheridan Smith

Born in Epworth, Lincolnshire in 1981, Sheridan Smith has performed in numerous television shows and musicals, earning an OBE in 2015 for services to drama. With a keen interest in drama from a young age, Smith studied dance and performing arts at every opportunity, but did not attend drama school. Smith made her television debut at 18 years old, playing Emma in the BBC series The Royle Family. Three years after, she landed the role of Janet Keogh in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, starring in the programme from 2001 to 2009.

Outside of theatre, she is best known for her roles in television. She has had roles in comedy shows such as Benidorm and Gavin and Stacey, in which she played Rudi, the sister of Smithy played by James Corden. She has also appeared in a number of dramas such as Mrs Biggs, which won her a BAFTA award, and The 7.39 alongside David Morrissey.

Smith played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2006, transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre. In 2009, she took on the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. 

In 2012, she played the title role in Hedda Gabler at the Old Vic, and was then in a revival of the Terence Rattigan play Flare Path at Theatre Royal Haymarket, winning an Olivier for Best Actress. The following year, she starred in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Noël Coward Theatre, alongside David Walliams.

In 2015, Smith went on to play the role of Fanny Brice in the musical Funny Girl, which initially ran at the Menier Chocolate Factory, before transferring to the Savoy Theatre and touring the UK. She was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical following the show’s West End transfer.

More recently, Smith has played Cilla Black in the ITV biographical drama Cilla, as well as releasing her debut album titled ‘Sheridan’ in 2017, with her second album ‘A Northern Soul’ a year later. She's recently starred in the West End revival of [Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat](http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat) as the Narrator, appearing alongside Jason Donovan.

In 2023, Smith starred in the one-woman play, Shirley Valentine and, in 2024, she appeared in Opening Night, based on John Cassavetes's 1977 film. This year, she stars in Woman in Mind at the Duke of York's Theatre.