Lauren Patten

Lauren Marie Patten, born September 22, 1992, in Downers Grove, Illinois, is an American actress, singer, and writer whose Broadway career spans from 2015 to 2026. She is best known for originating the role of Jo in the musical Jagged Little Pill, a performance that earned her both a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, both in 2020. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from The New School, having previously attended New York University and the University of Southern California. Patten came out as bisexual and queer in 2018.

Patten began performing in commercials at age four and transitioned into community theatre shortly thereafter. At twelve, she made her professional theatre debut in the Goodman Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. Two years later, she relocated to Los Angeles to portray the title character in the Rubicon Theatre's production of A Diary of Anne Frank. She continued working with the Rubicon across multiple productions, earning a 2008 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Elma in Bus Stop. She also received a Santa Barbara Independent Award for her performance as Emily in Our Town. Additional pre-Broadway stage work included Deaf West's production of Spring Awakening, in which she played Ilse, and the original rock musical Home Street Home by Fat Mike of NOFX, where she portrayed Trashley.

Patten moved to New York City in 2015 to join the original Broadway cast of Fun Home, serving as cover for the roles of Medium Alison and Joan. From February 2 to May 22, 2016, she assumed the role of Medium Alison while original cast member Emily Skeggs was away for a television project, continuing as cover until her final performance on June 19, 2016. In 2017, she appeared in Sarah DeLappe's play The Wolves, portraying the team captain, number 25, on a soccer team of suburban teenage girls. Her ensemble work in that production earned her an Obie Award for Ensemble Performance and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble. Later that same year, she led the New York Musical Festival's production of The Goree All-Girl String Band, playing Reable Childs.

Patten first originated the role of Jo in Jagged Little Pill during a 2017 reading of the Alanis Morissette jukebox musical. She reprised the role in the original production at the American Repertory Theater in 2018, winning an IRNE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a large stage musical and receiving a nomination for the 2019 Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance by an Actress. Also in 2018, she played Jenny in Steven Levenson's play Days of Rage at Second Stage Theatre. In the fall of 2019, Patten brought Jo to Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, where her delivery of "You Oughta Know" drew particular critical attention. That performance ultimately secured her the Tony and Drama Desk awards in 2020. She also appeared on Broadway in the play Becky Sharp.

Beyond the stage, Patten has accumulated a range of television credits. She held recurring roles as Officer Rachel Witten on Blue Bloods and as Polly Dean in Season 3 of The Good Fight, and appeared as a guest on Arrested Development, Switched at Birth, and Succession. In 2024, she starred as Anna in the Hulu series Death and Other Details. Patten has also performed as a musician with her band, whose members include Damien Bassman, Eric B. Davis, and Marc Schmied, with concerts at Rockwood Music Hall on August 5, 2019, and at The Bitter End on October 13, 2019.