Elena Roger

Elena Roger is an Argentine actress and singer born on 27 October 1974 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is best known internationally for her West End and Broadway work, and is the recipient of the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in Piaf.

Before her international career, Roger built an extensive performance record in Buenos Aires. In 1997, she received a Trinidad Guevara Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Female for her work in Yo Que Tu Me Enamoraba. She subsequently appeared in productions including Nine, Houdini, Dracula the Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables in the role of Fantine, and Saturday Night Fever as Annette. For the 2002/2003 season, she earned an ACE Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Jazz, Swing, Tap. The following season she co-authored Mina...che cosa sei? alongside director Valeria Ambrosio and starred in the production, winning the ACE Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Roger also appeared on Argentine television programs including Hombres de Honor, Pensionados, and El sodero de mi vida, and toured Europe briefly with Tango por Dos.

Her West End career began when a representative of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group observed her performing in Buenos Aires during research for the 2006 West End revival of Evita and recommended her for the title role. Following multiple rounds of auditions, Roger was cast as Eva Perón at the Adelphi Theatre, directed by Michael Grandage and choreographed by Rob Ashford. The performance earned her a 2007 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, though the award went to Jenna Russell for Sunday in the Park with George. She subsequently appeared in the West End production of Boeing-Boeing as Gabriella, directed by Matthew Warchus at the Comedy Theatre.

In 2008, Roger took on the title role in the Donmar Warehouse production of Piaf. The production transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre, and her performance earned her the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She then toured internationally with the production, including a stop in Buenos Aires, where she also revived Mina...che cosa sei? for a limited run. From September 10 through November 21, 2010, Roger starred as Fosca in a revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion at the Donmar Warehouse. On February 7, 2011, it was announced that she had received her third Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for that performance.

Roger made her Broadway debut in 2012, reprising the role of Eva Perón in a revival of Evita at the Marquis Theatre, with previews beginning in March and an opening night in April. The production was again directed by Michael Grandage and choreographed by Rob Ashford, and also starred Ricky Martin as Che and Michael Cerveris as Juan Perón. Roger's recordings include the cast albums of Mina...che cosa sei? and both the 2006 London and 2012 Broadway revivals of Evita, as well as two solo albums, Vientos Del Sur and the live Buenos Aires recording Recorriendo el Rock Nacional.