Emily Padgett

Emily Padgett is an American actress, singer, and dancer born on September 20, 1984, in Danbury, Connecticut. When she was two years old, her family relocated to Lewisville, North Carolina, where she grew up. Her introduction to musical theatre came through family trips to New York City, during which her parents brought home cast recordings as souvenirs. She performed in her high school theatre program, taking on the role of Maria in West Side Story at age sixteen. Rather than pursuing a traditional four-year conservatory program, Padgett enrolled in the two-year program at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.

After graduating, Padgett booked the role of Demeter in the non-Equity national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats in 2005, remaining with the production for approximately a year. She then pursued open calls in New York City while supporting herself through various jobs, including dancing at bar mitzvahs and performing as Nemo from Disney's Finding Nemo at children's birthday parties. Her Broadway debut came in 2007 with Grease, where she performed in the ensemble as a swing and understudied the roles of Sandy, Patty, and Cha-Cha. She departed that production in 2008 to join Legally Blonde as Cece and District Attorney, also understudying the roles of Shandi, Brooke, Margot, and Pilar. Following the close of Legally Blonde, she was offered the role of Sandy in the first national tour of Grease, which she played for a year.

In 2009, Padgett joined the Broadway cast of Rock of Ages as Waitress Number One, understudying Kerry Butler in the role of Sherrie Christian. When Butler left the production in 2010, Padgett stepped into the lead role, marking her first principal role on Broadway. She remained in the production until 2011, briefly returning to the show after starring as Eden in White Noise: A Cautionary Musical, a Whoopi Goldberg-produced production at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago. In 2013, she was cast as Alex Owens in Flashdance the Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1983 film.

Padgett originated the role of Daisy Hilton in the 2014 revival of Sideshow, first performing the part at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and La Jolla Playhouse before the production transferred to Broadway opposite Erin Davie, where it was announced on September 12, 2014. The revival closed on January 4, 2015. In April 2015, she was announced as a cast member of Waterfall, a new musical at the Pasadena Playhouse. Later that year, in October 2015, it was announced that Padgett would originate the role of Lucy Grant in Bright Star, the new musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. The show began previews at the Cort Theatre on February 25, 2016, officially opened on March 24, and closed on June 26, 2016, after 30 previews and 109 regular performances.

In August 2016, Padgett joined Sutton Foster in an off-Broadway limited revival of Sweet Charity, which ran until January 8, 2017. That same month, on December 19, 2016, it was announced that she would originate the role of Mrs. Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Broadway. Her cast recordings include the 2007 New Broadway Cast Recording of Grease, the Original Demo Cast Recording of Flashdance, the 2014 New Broadway Cast Recording of Sideshow, Bright Star's Original Broadway Cast Recording, and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

On January 12, 2017, Padgett became engaged to actor Josh Young. The two were married on June 3, 2018, and welcomed a daughter, Adele May Young, on February 3, 2019.