Dana Dawson

Dana Dawson (August 7, 1974 – August 10, 2010) was an American actress and singer born in Queens, New York. She appeared on Broadway between 1996 and 2003, with credits including Little Shop of Horrors and Rent. Her performing career began at age seven, when she made her acting debut in a national tour of Annie.

Before establishing herself on Broadway, Dawson built a recording career that found its earliest success in France. At fourteen she released her debut single, "Ready To Follow You," a song written by French singer Jacqueline Taïeb and produced in France, which reached the Top 20 on the French singles chart. Working with French producers, Dawson recorded her debut album, Paris, New York and Me, released in 1991, which included that single along with four additional singles. Two of those follow-up tracks, "Romantic World" and "Tell Me Bonita," each peaked at number 4 on the French singles chart, and the album was certified gold in France.

In 1993, Dawson paused her recording work for two years with the goal of expanding her international reach beyond France. She subsequently signed with EMI and relocated her musical base to the United Kingdom. Her second album, Black Butterfly, was released in October 1995 and distributed across Europe and Japan. Three of its singles charted in the UK: "3 Is Family" reached number 9 in July 1995, "Got to Give Me Love" reached number 27 in October 1995, and "Show Me" reached number 28 in May 1996. A fourth single, "How I Wanna Be Loved," was released in 1996 but did not reach the UK Top 40; it was later included on a UK reissue of Black Butterfly. In 1997, Dawson provided vocals for the Dolce & Gabbana single "More, More, More," a dance cover of the Andrea True Connection hit. Her songs also appeared on compilation releases including EMI's Music of the Twentieth Century: 1980–1999 and Virgin's Best Dance Album 1995, and she performed on Michael W. Smith's 1989 gospel album I 2 Eye.

Dawson's stage work brought her back to the production Rent in a touring capacity before her Broadway tenure. She served as an understudy for the roles of Mimi and Joanne in the national tour of Rent in 2000, and in an interview with The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she described being given time to become secure in each role before learning the other. She joined the Broadway cast of Rent in 2001. Her 2001 single "Nice Life" was featured on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, though the track was released as a single only in France.

In her personal life, Dawson married New York jazz artist and musician Jason Curry on July 7, 2007, in Hamilton, Bermuda. She died on August 10, 2010, of colorectal cancer, at the age of 36.