Rose Hemingway

Rose Hemingway (née Sezniak or Szczesniak; born January 1, 1984) is an American actress and singer whose Broadway career spanned from 2001 to 2014, encompassing credits in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Kinky Boots, and Mamma Mia!.

Hemingway was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the sixth of nine children in a strictly Catholic household. Her early exposure to the performing arts came largely through movie musicals, which were among the few television programs her family was permitted to watch. She attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy, an all-girls preparatory school located just outside Philadelphia, and trained as a gymnast while also taking part in amateur theatre productions at a local community center, appearing in adaptations of Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. During her high school years she was a member of The Rainbow Company, a Philadelphia-based youth theatre organization through which she performed across the city. She later credited that experience as the point at which she decided to pursue performance professionally. Hemingway went on to attend the Catholic University of America.

Following her graduation, Hemingway's first professional acting credit was the lead role in the Theatreworks national tour of Junie B. Jones, which also played off-Broadway in 2006. In 2008 she joined the second national tour of Mamma Mia!, originating from Toronto, Canada, in June 2003, portraying Sophie Sheridan; she remained with the production through February 2009. Her regional and international theatre work includes the role of Gerda in The Snow Queen at the Prince Music Theatre, Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Center Stage, and Cinderella in Into the Woods at the Annenberg Center. In September 2009 she appeared in the Los Angeles transfer of the Donmar Warehouse production of Parade at the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Rob Ashford, playing the role of Lila/Mary Phagan through November 15, 2009.

Hemingway made her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, again directed by Rob Ashford, portraying Rosemary Pilkington. The production began previews on February 26, 2011, and opened on March 27 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Her castmates included Daniel Radcliffe, Darren Criss, John Larroquette, Tammy Blanchard, Christopher J. Hanke, and Mary Faber. For her performance, Hemingway received a Theatre World Award in 2011.

In November 2010, Hemingway married actor Geoffrey Hemingway, who had also appeared in the national tour of Mamma Mia!