Ellis paired with Brian May and singer Irene Fornaciari at the 2012 Sanremo Music Festival on the songs "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "We Will Rock You" in February. The 43-year-old American was born in the Year of the Goat and is part of Generation X. Kerry Elliss birth sign is Taurus and she has a ruling planet of Venus. In September, she performed with Brian May at both the Freddie for a Day launch event at London's Savoy Hotel, Wildlife Rocks at the Guildford Cathedral and at The Sunflower Jam at London's Royal Albert Hall in addition to sitting on the judging panel at London dog show Pup Aid. The same month, the pair performed "Born Free" at the 2011 Born Free Foundation Gala Dinner at the Savoy Hotel to celebrate the 80th birthday of its founder Virginia McKenna and teamed up again to perform at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Among other participants from the London theatre community, Ellis additionally lent her voice to "inspirational" videos that were released upon to video-sharing website YouTube for the "It Gets Better" campaign a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among young LGBT people aiming to "provide hope to youth struggling with their identity. Ellis, who ended her run as Meat on 17 April 2004, is also featured on the original London cast recording of We Will Rock You. [51] Of her "eclectic set" with "velvety rich distinctive vocals," a critic professed, "Ellis is as sexy as any other female pop star out there today and she sings like a true diva," and concluded, "She may have left Oz for good but there is no place like home and for Kerry Ellis that home is most definitely the stage."[52]. Rent's Kerry Ellis Features 21 Feb 2013", "Kerry Ellis, Jonathan Williams & Daniel Boys On Godspell", "Queen Legend Brian May And Singing Sensation Kerry Ellis Re-record Epic 'Born Free' Song", "Congratulations Kerry and James! [3], Kerry Jane Ellis was born on 6 May 1979 in Haughley,[4] near Stowmarket, in Suffolk, the daughter of Sandra Ann Reed and Terry John Ellis. Click here to Start FameChaining. Her nickname is Kerry Jane Townsend (legal married name). In January 2012, Ellis auditioned for the debut series of The Voice UK, a reality television singing competition. On 14 July 2014, it was announced that Ellis will once again rejoin the West End production of Wicked replacing Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. According to our records, she has no children. Who is Kerry Ellis ? She has released three studio albums Anthems (2010), which reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, the self-titled Kerry Ellis (2014) and "Golden Days" as well as an extended play Wicked in Rock (2008) and a live album Acoustic by Candlelight (2013). In between she and Brian went into the studio to record her debut album Anthems which they launched with two sell-out concerts at The Royal Albert Hall followed by a national tour in 2011. She performed on four dates in late June 2009 with the inclusion of Brian May in each night's encore. Promotion of the album included Ellis performing (with Brian May) on many television shows like Tonight's the Night, The Michael Ball Show, This Morning and The Alan Titchmarsh Show, as well as performing live at the BBC Radio Theatre and later, London nightclub, G-A-Y. Ahead of her gig at The Apex in Bury this autumn, she spoke to Arts Editor Andrew Clarke about how she is managing to balance the demands of her career with her homelife. Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Aside her professional endeavors, Ellis married her long-term boyfriend James Townsend on 8 September 2011 following their engagement in November 2010. She married James Townsend in 2011. The same month, she also performed with Michael Ball and Gina Beck in Summertime, a musical theatre event celebrating the music of George Gershwin, at London's Kenwood House,[85] in addition to talking to Edward Seckerson in his Singular Sensations series at Charing Cross Theatre, London, and playing an acoustic set with Brian May at the Hope 4 Apes charity ball, hosted by Sir David Attenborough, at The Savoy, London. Kerry Ellis; Kerry Ellis. He might be, Kerry laughs, But, hes very busy with his own stuff at the moment. [18] By the time she graduated in 1998, Ellis had appeared in a number of professional pantomimes for E&B productions including Dick Whittington (1995) and Aladdin (1996) across theatres in the UK as well as performing the title role in Cinderella (1997) at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea. Ellis also embarked on her second headlining concert tour with Brian May, The Born Free Tour, performing dates in and around the home counties from 5 to 19 November. Tags: 1979 births England Stage Actress England net worth Stage Actress net worth 39 richest money. [53][54][55] Ellis also performed alongside other musicians at the Royal Albert Hall in November at Women of Rock, a performance dedicated to breast cancer research, and also appeared as a featured artist on a version of "Somebody to Love" on Only Men Aloud! She has also worked sporadically in film and television. In 2002, she landed the role of Meat in the original London cast of We Will Rock You and has subsequently played lead roles in musicals Les Misrables, Wicked (in the West End and on Broadway), Oliver! She cited the role of Elphaba as the "most challenging [that she had] ever undertaken" stating that it was "a massive journey" to go on at every performance and admits that Wicked "changed [her] life" in terms of boosting her recognition within the entertainment industry. Kerry Ellis has been married once, in 2011. We make up for that when we come home. Following this, she appeared as the title role in a Gary Griffin-directed workshop production titled Helen of Troy and played the role of Mary in Merrily We Roll Along at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. She also performed alongside Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Josh Groban, Clarke Peters, Marti Pellow and David Bedella in a two-day limited engagement of Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 12 and 13 May 2008. And mother and son then went on tour around Britain with the musical Rent, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and was so popular that extra dates were added this year. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. All Rights Reserved. Townsend, James C. [from old catalog]; Townsend, Martin Ingham, 1810-1903. In August, she performs in West End Anthems, a musical theatre revue, at the Glow venue in Bluewater in Kent and will be a special guest at An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall at London's Cadogan Hall and a special guest at The Velma Celli Show at the Hippodrome Casino, London. The school now offers annual scholarships in both Ellis' and Langford's names. In October, she performed at Inspiration Awards for Women at Cadogan Hall, London. This concert version was later released on DVD and CD and screened on US network television. In 2017, Ellis starred as Alice in the UK tour of Wonderland.[94]. Also known as. After leaving the show, she performed in a concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar as the female lead, Mary Magdalene, at Porchester Castle in June 2004 alongside other West End performers and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Actress: Les Misrables. Kerry Ellis was born on May 6, 1979 in England. [It has] big orchestras and big ballad-y vocals. She also involves herself in charity work for the Born Free Foundation with May and is the patron of several arts organisations. She also appeared in TransAtlantic, a concert mix of new musical theatre at St James Theatre, London, singing a duet with Rory Taylor in September. A Swedish critic stated that Ellis, who "oscillates between low and high registers and makes it look so easy," outshined Johansson who led the concert. However, StrictlyWeddings.com is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Describing herself as a hyperactive young girl, she attended dance classes at the Ann Holland School of Theatre Dance and performed in local shows and pantomimes whilst also enjoying swimming and horse-riding. In May, she judged in the 2011 Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year competition in addition to performing "Cabaret" and "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" at the Mermaid Theatre as part of the BBC Radio 2 special Friday Night is Music Night in a special concert celebrating the music of the BBC's radio programme Desert Island Discs and appearing at gay nightclub Cruz 101 to perform "Love It When You Call", "Somebody to Love" and the remixed version of her rock version of the song "Defying Gravity" in celebration of the club's 19th birthday.[69][70][71]. Kerry Ellis, best known for being a Stage Actress, was born in England, United Kingdom on Sunday, May 6, 1979. In addition to her later theatrical involvement on stage, she also appeared at the Lavender for Life charity concert at Heaven in London on 4 September 2005 where she sang "I'm With You" and duetted on "Dead Ringer for Love" with Peter Johansson. Stowmarket girl, Kerry, will be bringing her new show to The Apex in Bury St Edmunds where she launched her last tour, Acoustic by Candlelight, with Queen guitarist Brian May in November 2012. James Townsend (m. 2011) Sibling: Not Available: Children: Alfie Ellis-Townsend (25/10/2013) Freddie Ellis-Townsend (30/11/2015) . Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Ellis was nominated for the 2010 BroadwayWorld.com UK Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Takeover in a Role but lost to Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde and Rachel Tucker as Elphaba in Wicked, respectively. After attending Anthems: The Concert, critic Mark Shenton of The Stage hailed Ellis, a "small but fierce and fiery performer," as "this generation's Elaine Paige, with a similarly soaring, scorching voice." See the Elon Musk family tree here at FameChain. After playing Fantine for almost a year, Ellis ended her time with the company on 24 June 2006. People born in the Year of the Goat enjoy being alone with their thoughts. [7] "I have particularly fond memories of this, my first West End show, and the experience I gained from the cast and creatives was fantastic," she reflected. Immediately after her first year-and-a-half long London run as Elphaba, Ellis transferred to the Broadway production of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre with performances starting on 17 June 2008. [39][40] Playing alongside Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda and Aaron Tveit as Fiyero for her five-month run, Ellis won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Female Breakthrough Performance in 2009. We are planning to be in the studio at the end of June and into the beginning of July. Alfies more travelled and got more stamps in his passport than I did at his age. The response was so great that I wished I had recorded it but there was so much going in my life at the time I had only just found out I was pregnant that I didnt think to record or video the show. Freddie Ellis-Townsend (30/11/2015). Kerry Ellis' husband James Townsend with their son Alfie. Other appearances saw her sit on the celebrity judging panel for West End Eurovision 2012 and perform in Scott Alan's concert at New York's Birdland in April in addition to returning to The Night of 1000 Voices at the Royal Albert Hall, judging contestants for the Craig Barbour Award at the Soho Theatre, and playing at a Marco Bicego London jewellery exhibition in May. Ellis made her first professional stage appearance in 1998 and went on to make her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady as Martine McCutcheon's understudy in the role of Eliza Doolittle. It was important not just in the type of show it was but also in getting my face known. The same month, the pair performed at the Make-A-Wish Foundation Winter Ball at The Dorchester in London. There, she also shot a documentary to highlight her charity work with the Born Free Foundation.