Erika Henningsen

Erika Leigh Henningsen, born August 13, 1992, in Moraga, California, is an American actress and singer whose career spans Broadway, television, and voice acting. The youngest of three daughters born to Phil and Marybeth Henningsen, she developed an early interest in performance that her parents attributed to her enthusiasm for speaking in front of others. At age seven, a recitation of Jack Prelutsky's poem "The Turkey Shot out of the Oven" and the audience's reaction to it drew her toward theatre. By age fourteen, a role in a local production of Grey Gardens had confirmed her intention to pursue musical theatre professionally.

Henningsen graduated from Campolindo High School in 2010 and went on to earn a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Michigan in 2014, during which time she also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London through the NYU London program. Upon graduation, she received the 2014 Alan Eisenberg Award Scholarship, presented to a University of Michigan graduating senior in recognition of outstanding talent and career potential in musical theatre.

Her professional career began in earnest in late 2014. In November of that year she made her New York Philharmonic debut playing Kim Ravenal in a staged concert production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat, a taping of which aired on PBS on October 16, 2015. Shortly after, she originated the role of Beth in the world premiere of Diner, a musical based on Barry Levinson's 1982 film with music and lyrics by Sheryl Crow, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. The production ran at the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C., from December 9, 2014, to January 25, 2015, and Henningsen continued with the show when it was staged by the Delaware Theatre Company in December 2015.

Henningsen made her Broadway debut on March 3, 2015, as Fantine in the revival of Les Misérables — the same role she had last played as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan eleven months earlier. She has noted in interviews that she was on the verge of filing for unemployment when she received the casting offer. She is the youngest actress in Broadway history to have portrayed Fantine. She departed the production on August 30, 2015, alongside co-stars Ramin Karimloo and Samantha Hill, and was succeeded by Montego Glover.

In the summer of 2016, Henningsen portrayed Ensign Nellie Forbush opposite Ben Davis in the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's production of South Pacific. The following February, she appeared Off-Broadway in a staged concert of Jerry Herman's Dear World as Nina, alongside Tyne Daly, Alison Fraser, and Ann Harada, presented by York Theatre. She returned to the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in the summer of 2017 to star as Sophie in Mamma Mia!, and it was during that engagement that her casting as Cady Heron in Mean Girls was announced.

Beginning in October 2017, Henningsen originated the role of Cady Heron in the world premiere of Mean Girls at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., where the production ran from October 31 to December 3, 2017. Written by Tina Fey with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, the Tony Award-nominated musical began Broadway previews on March 12, 2018, and officially opened on April 8, 2018, at the August Wilson Theatre. For her performance, Henningsen received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. She remained with the production until February 22, 2020, when she was succeeded by Sabrina Carpenter. In March 2019, during her run in Mean Girls, she also appeared at Second Stage Theater in a concert staging of Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night, portraying Helen opposite Mean Girls co-star Kyle Selig.

In April 2025, Henningsen debuted as Sandra Dee in Just in Time at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre, appearing alongside Jonathan Groff and Gracie Lawrence.

Beyond the stage, Henningsen has built a substantial screen presence. From 2021 to 2024, she portrayed young Gloria in the Peacock comedy series Girls5Eva, executive produced by Tina Fey and starring Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell. In 2023, she was cast as a series regular in the ABC pilot Public Defenders, directed by Randall Einhorn and written and executive produced by Eddie Quintana, though the project was canceled following the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. She reunited with Tina Fey for the 2025 Netflix comedy The Four Seasons, playing the role of Ginny, and is set to return for the show's already-renewed second season. Beginning in 2024, Henningsen has voiced the lead character Charlie Morningstar in the A24 and Bento Box Entertainment animated series Hazbin Hotel, created by Vivienne Medrano, and has also guest starred in Medrano's companion series Helluva Boss.

Henningsen has been active in arts advocacy and philanthropy throughout her career. As a University of Michigan student, she served as co-president of the Michigan Performance Outreach Workshop, a student-run organization co-founded by her classmate and future Mean Girls co-star Ashley Park, which brings performing-arts education to public-school students in southeastern Michigan. In New York City, she has worked as an artist partner with Sing For Hope, teaching classes and leading workshops aimed at expanding arts access for children. She has also participated in events supporting Artists Striving to End Poverty, Artists For Action NYC, Broadway Sings for Immigration Equality, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway Barks, and Broadway Beats Hunger.