Jill Paice

Jill Paice is an American actress whose career has centered on musical theatre, with Broadway appearances spanning from 1988 to 2015. She grew up in Beavercreek, Ohio, where she attended Beavercreek High School, graduating in 1998. Paice then enrolled at Baldwin-Wallace College, where she earned a bachelor of musical theater in 2002. During her time there she took on leading roles including Maria in West Side Story, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Violet in a new musical of the same name.

Before completing her degree, Paice appeared in a production of Gypsy at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio in 2001, which earned her her Equity card. After graduating she joined the national tour of Les Misérables, and in 2003 she played Sophie in the Las Vegas production of Mamma Mia!

In 2004, Paice originated the role of Laura Fairlie in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White at the Palace Theatre in London. Lloyd Webber was required to cast two unknown American actors in the production in order to satisfy Actors Equity union rules that would allow the British cast members, including Michael Crawford and Maria Friedman, to transfer with the show to Broadway. Paice reprised the role in the Broadway production at the Marquis Theatre in 2005, which closed after 109 performances. That same year she also appeared in York Theatre Company productions of Weird Romance and The Gig Off-Broadway.

Paice originated the role of Nikki Harris in Curtains during its pre-Broadway tryout at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in 2006, then brought the role to Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2007, appearing opposite David Hyde Pierce. She departed the production in February 2008. Director Trevor Nunn, who had been developing a stage adaptation of Gone With the Wind while Paice was still working on The Woman in White, had involved her in readings and workshops for the project over that period. She returned to London's West End to originate the role of Scarlett in Nunn's production, which ran for 79 performances before closing.

Later in 2008, Paice played Elizabeth Lucas in Ace at the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia, a performance that earned her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical. She also appeared as Betty Haynes in Irving Berlin's White Christmas in Detroit that year, and later at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in November 2011. In January 2009, she performed the role of Anne in a gala concert of A Little Night Music presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Also in 2009, Paice made her Broadway debut in a non-musical play, joining The 39 Steps at the Helen Hayes Theatre as a replacement, playing Annabella Schmidt among other roles. The following year she starred as Florence in Chess the Musical at the Signature Theater, earning a second Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical. In 2011, she originated the role of Grazia in Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production.

Paice took over the role of Miss Honey in the Broadway musical Matilda the Musical on September 3, 2013. In April 2015, she opened on Broadway in An American in Paris, playing Milo Davenport. Her television work includes two guest appearances as Molly Benedict in the series Unforgettable. Her cast recordings include the original London cast recording of The Woman in White, the original Broadway cast recording of Curtains, the Off-Broadway cast recordings of The Gig and Death Takes a Holiday, and the original Broadway cast recording of An American in Paris.