Anna Leigh Ashford

Annaleigh Amanda Ashford (born April 14th, 1980) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She started her Broadway career with musicals such as Wicked, Legally Blonde, as well as Hair. Her first Tony Award was given to Ashford for her role as Essie Carmichael from You Can't Take It With You. Annaleigh has worked on projects with award-winning directors as well as actors and producers for most of her professional career. Ashford next will star opposite Kumail Robert Siegel's Hulu exclusive series Welcome to Chippendales which premieres November 22. Ashford is currently working on Searchlight Pictures' horror thriller Dust alongside Sarah Paulson, Ebon Moss Bachrach and Ebon Mosch Bachrach. The film will be released on Hulu Original on Disney DTC. Ashford will be returning in 2023 and will be starring opposite Josh Groban at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre to perform the return of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Thomas Kail (director) and Jeffrey Seller (producer), the same duo who created Hamilton, will direct the show. Ashford has most recently played Paula Jones in the new Ryan Murphy FX series American Crime Story Impeachment that is based upon the national crisis that swept into Paula Jones Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp as principal characters as the nation's first impeachment trial in more than 100 years. She was in two seasons of the hit CBS comedy B Positive. The show was written by Marco Pennette, Chuck Lorre and Linda Lavin. Also, it included Ben Vereen as well as Hector Elizondo. Also, she has been in Broadway as a character in Sunday in the Park With George Wicked, Legally Blonde as well as the original character in the role of Lauren In Kinky Boots for which she was nominated for the Tony Award. Ashford splits her life between Los Angeles & New York. Her birthplace was in Denver and grew up there.