Lesli Margherita

Lesli Margherita is an American stage and screen actress whose Broadway career has spanned from 2013 to 2024. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, she built her career across theatre, film, and television, earning recognition on both sides of the Atlantic.

Margherita's breakthrough in musical theatre came through the West End production of Zorro. She first encountered the project through a 2006 workshop in Los Angeles, which she initially declined, but ultimately remained with the production through its West End premiere in June 2008, originating the role of Inez. Her performance earned widespread critical acclaim, and she can be heard on the original London cast recording. At the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, she performed a number from the show, and in 2009 she received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, along with a WhatsOnStage Award nomination. In 2020, she returned to the role for a one-night concert version in London.

On Broadway, Margherita originated the role of Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda the Musical, appearing in the production from March 2013 to September 2015 and again from September 2016. In October 2015, she took on the role of Mona Kent in the Broadway premiere of Dames at Sea. She returned to Broadway in 2024, playing Tessie Tura, the burlesque ballerina, in the revival of Gypsy, a performance that earned her a 2025 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.

Beyond Broadway, Margherita played Cindy Lou Who in the Off-Broadway solo production Who's Holiday! during November and December 2017. The performance generated three award nominations: a 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show, and a 2018 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance. In January and February 2020, she starred as Princess in the musical Emojiland at the Duke on 42nd Street in New York City.

Her regional theatre work includes the role of The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at the Sacramento Music Circus in 2010, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at La Mirada Theatre from April to May 2011, and Julie in Show Boat at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, from July to September 2011. She also appeared as Phyllis in the new musical The Flamingo Kid at Hartford Stage in Connecticut from May to June 2019. In December 2018, she performed her concert and cabaret act at The Green Room 42 in New York City.

Margherita's screen credits include the films Boogeyman 2, Lucky Stiff, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, and Opening Night. Following her graduation from UCLA, she appeared in the television series Fame L.A., and her subsequent television work includes NYPD Blue, Charmed, The District, On the Lot, The Suite Life on Deck, Major Crimes, and Donny!.