Background:

American actress and singer Susan Egan is most famous  for originating the role of Belle in “Beauty and the Best” on Broadway in 1994, from which she was nominated for a Tony, Drama Desk and Ovation Award. Other stage plays she has appeared in include “Bye Bye Birdie,” “State Fair,” “Triumph of Love,” “Putting It Together,” “Cabaret” (as Sally Bowles), “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” On the small screen, Egan is perhaps best recalled for her portrayal of Nikki Cox's best friend on the sitcom “Nikki” (The WB, 2000-2002). She also has appeared in several films, such as “Hercules” (1997, as the voice of Meg), “Man of the Century” (1999),  “13 Going on 30” (2004) and “Meet Market” (2008).

Egan has two daughters, Nina and Isla, with her husband Robert Hartmann. The couple have been married since 2005. Now living in California, Egan enjoys spending her free time writing and walking Willa-the-Wonder-Dog. From 2002 to 2003, she served as Artistic Director at her alma mater, the Orange County High School of the Arts.


Farrell

Childhood and Family:

Susan Farrell Egan was born on February 18, 1970, in Seal Beach, California. She studied dance throughout her childhood. She later attended Orange County High School of the Performing Arts and UCLA, where she earned a Carol Burnett Award for excellence in musical performance. As an anthropology major at UCLA, Susan decided to leave school when she joined the national tour of “Bye Bye, Birdie,” with Tommy Tune. She then moved to New York City to further pursue acting.  

On June 26, 2005, Susan was married to Robert Hartmann. She gave birth to her first child, daughter Nina, on February 6, 2007.  Her second daughter, Isla, was born on December 15, 2009. Currently, Susan and her family live in Orange County, California.


Nikki

Career:

Susan Egan had her first taste in front of the film cameras at age 5 when she appeared as ballet dancer on the 1982 drama film “Six Weeks,” starring Dudley Moore, Mary Tyler Moore and Katherine Healy and directed by Tony Bill. Many years later, while attending UCLA, she landed the role of Kim in the USA touring of “Bye Bye Birdie,” opposite Tommy Tune as Albert, Ann Reinking as Rosie, Marc Kudisch as Conrad, Marcia Lewis as Mrs. Peterson. The tour lasted from the mid-1990 through June 1991. Around this period, Egan also made her television movie debut in Disney Channel's “Aladdin” (1990), where she played the role of Mei Ling, and followed by a featured role in the ABC made for television film “Earth Angel” (1991), starring Cindy Williams, Cathy Podewell and Rainbow Harvest.

In 1992, Egan landed the starring role of Margy in the tour of “State Fair,” a role she later reprised in 1996. Also in 1992, she had a small role as Beth in the drama film “Deuce Coupe,” starring Kieran Mulroney, Brian Bloom and Danielle von Zerneck, and voiced the English version of Gina in “Porco Rosso,” by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. In the following year, she appeared with Peter Strauss, Judith Light and James Gammon in the TV film “Men Don't Tell.”

Egan's big break arrived when she originated the role of Belle in the Broadway production of  Disney's “Beauty and the Beast” in 1994, directed by Robert Jess Roth with choreography by Matt West. She received a 1994 Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for the role. The  Original Broadway Cast Recording was released on April 26, 1994, which included Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumiere and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts. She also appeared in the Los Angeles production of the show, which opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 12, 1995 and closed on September 29, 1996.

Between 1995 and 1996, Egan landed a recurring role as Katy Ryan in the CBS sitcom “Almost Perfect,”  starring Nancy Travis and Kevin Kilner. She made guest appearances in the short lived Fox sitcom “Partners” (1996, as Gina) and the popular teen drama series “Party of Five” (1996, as Lauren Gordon). 1996 also found her at the Sacramento Music Circus playing Maria in the musical “Sound of Music.”  In 1997, Egan was cast as Princess Léonide in the Broadway production of “Triumph Of Love,” co-starring  F. Murray Abraham and Betty Buckley. Directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by Doug Varone,  the show opened on October 23, 1997 at the Royale Theatre, where it ran for 85 performances. Also in 1997, Egan provided the voice of Meg on the Disney animated film “Hercules,” a role she later reprised in an episode of the “Hercules” series in 1999.   

Egan earned prominent reviews for her portrayal of Sally Bowles on Broadway in Sam Mendes' acclaimed revival of “Cabaret” (1998). In April 1998), she played “The Young Wife” in “Hello Again,” a musical by Michael John LaChiusa at the 2nd Stage Theatre in Los Angeles. From October 22, 1998 to December 6, 1998, she appeared in Stephen Sondheim's musical revue “Putting It Together” at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, opposite Carol Burnett. Meanwhile, on the small screen, Egan appeared in an episode of “The Drew Carey Show” called “The Dating Consultant” (1998). In 1999, she had the notable supporting role of Samantha Winter in the Adam Abraham comedy film “Man of the Century,” starring Gibson Frazier, Cara Buono and Ian Edwards, co-starred with Kerr Smith, Natalie Zea and Daniel Cosgrove in the comedy film “Lucid Days in Hell” and had scenes deleted in the adventure film “Galaxy Quest,” starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.

Egan enjoyed her first big break on television when she was cast as the title character's best friend, Mary, on the WB sitcom “Nikki,”starring Nikki Cox. She was on the show throughout its two season run from October 9, 2000 to January 27, 2002.

In 2001, Egan starred as Bridget Smith on the short film “The Disappearing Girl Trick,” helmed  and written by David Jackson Willis, had the leading role of Karen Webber in Sean S. Cunningham's film, “XCU: Extreme Close Up,” and provided the singing voice of Angel on the direct to video “Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure” as well as the English version of Lin on Hayao Miyazaki's “Spirited Away.” Her voice could also be heard as Meg in an episode of “House of Mouse” called “Everybody Loves Mickey” (2001). In August 2001, Egan appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in the concert version of “Show Boat” as Julie. In October later that same year, she performed a one woman cabaret style concert at the  Carpenter Performing Arts Center.

In 2002, Egan portrayed Molly Brown on “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” at the Sacramento Music Circus. Besides, she starred along with Robert Leon Casey and April Adams in the romance film “Falling. In Love” (2002) for director/writer Gregory Doucette, supported Camille Guaty, America Ferrera and Jhoanna Flores in the Ramón Menéndez directed film “Gotta Kick It Up!” (2002) and appeared in episodes of the television series “NYPD Blue” (as Jennifer Martin), “Arli$$” (as Bobbi Kelso) and “Haunted” (as E.R. Doctor) (all 2002). Also in 2002, Egan released an album called “So Far...,” which included  cover of Tony Braxton's “A Change in Me.”    

In February 2004, Egan played  Millie Dillmount on the Broadway production of the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”The same year, she also acted in such films as Eric Fleming's “The Almost Guys” (as Suzanne Murphy), Kevin DiNovis' “Death and Texas” (as Corrine Ballard) and Gary Winick's “13 Going on 30” (as Tracy Hansen). She also released her second CD, “Coffee House,” in 2004, and performed in concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles in November 2004.

Egan portrayed Audrey in the  romance/comedy film “The Third Wish” (2005), opposite Jenna Mattison, Sean Maguire and Armand Assante, and  Becky Burdick in an episode of “Numb3rs” called “Prime Suspect” (2005). She released  the albums “All That & More,” “Winter Tracks” and “Susan Egan Live!” in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2008, she co-starred as Tess in the comedy/romance film “Meet Market,”  opposite Krista Allen and Elizabeth Berkley. In the following year, she portrayed Audrey Greenwald in an episode of “House M.D.” called “The Social Contract.”

Egan released her latest album, “Secret of Happiness,” in 2011.     


Awards:

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