Samantha Barks

Samantha Jane Barks, born on 2 October 1990 in Laxey on the Isle of Man, is a British actress and singer. She attended Laxey Primary School and St Ninian's High School in Douglas before relocating to London at age 16 to complete her A levels at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick. From the age of three, Barks trained in ballet, modern, and tap dance through Dancers Barre, Stagecoach Isle of Man, Theatrix, Stage One Drama School, and the Manx Ballet Company. Her mother is originally from Malahide, Ireland.

Barks first came to public attention in 2008 when she competed in the BBC television series I'd Do Anything, a talent competition searching for an unknown performer to play Nancy in a West End revival of Oliver!. She reached the final of the competition, finishing in third place. Prior to the competition, in April 2007, she had released a debut album titled Looking in Your Eyes on the independent label Brunswick Studios, which she partially co-wrote and which sold approximately 600 copies. That same year she performed at the Peel Bay Festival supporting Matt Willis and the Sugababes, and in December 2007 she represented the Isle of Man at the Maltese International Song Competition, winning the main prize of €2,000 and the title of Best Foreign Singer.

Following I'd Do Anything, Barks was cast as Sally Bowles in the UK tour of Cabaret, which ran from 29 August 2008 to 11 July 2009. She subsequently played the title role in the Christmas pantomime Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, during the 2009–10 season. In 2010, she was cast as Éponine in the London production of Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre, a run that lasted from 21 June 2010 to 18 June 2011. Cameron Mackintosh selected her to reprise the role at the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Misérables at the O2 Arena on 3 October 2010, having seen her perform on her opening night at the Queen's Theatre. Also in 2011, she toured the UK as Nancy in Oliver!, a role she had originally competed for on I'd Do Anything, from 10 December 2011 to 1 April 2012.

Barks made her film debut as Éponine in Tom Hooper's 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables. The performance earned her the Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer and a shared National Board of Review Award with the film's cast. That same year, she starred opposite Jonathan Bailey in the Disney Channel musical-comedy series Groove High, in which she played a character named Zoe across 26 episodes. The series, a mixture of live-action and animation, premiered on Disney Channel UK on 10 November 2012 and was sold to broadcasters internationally. Barks had recorded her voice for the series in April 2010, with live-action filming completed in Ireland in October 2011.

In 2016, Barks released her second studio album, a self-titled record, and appeared alongside Jonathan Bailey again in the London revival of the musical The Last Five Years. Her Broadway debut came in 2018, when she originated the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman: The Musical. From 2021 to 2024, she starred as Elsa in the West End production of Frozen. Her third studio album, Into the Unknown, was released in 2021.