Sarah Jane Nelson

Sarah Jane Nelson is an American actress, singer, and songwriter born in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she grew up performing in musical theater and singing gospel and blues music. She was among the founding members of The Young Troupe at the Strauss Theater and won the title of America's Miss T.E.E.N. in 1994. Nelson relocated to New York City at age 17 to pursue a professional career.

Before reaching Broadway, Nelson built her stage experience through regional theater productions, including The Canterbury Tales at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, The Who's Tommy at North Shore Music Theater, Beehive at Arkansas Rep and SUNY Purchase, and an extended sold-out run of It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues at The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. She also appeared in the original off-Broadway casts of Radiant Baby at The Public Theater, directed by George C. Wolfe, and Dream a Little Dream: The Mamas and Papas Musical, directed by Randal Myler and starring Denny Doherty.

Nelson made her Broadway debut between 1999 and 2000 in The Green Bird, directed by Julie Taymor. She subsequently appeared on Broadway in Swing!, and also performed in the production's first national tour, which premiered at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nelson's television work includes a guest role as Lori King, a murderous con artist, on the CBS series The District, and a recurring role as a nurse on the ABC series Nashville. She has additionally appeared in short films and the podcast series Boom.

In 2001, Nelson won the premiere episode of The Next Big Star, hosted by Ed McMahon, marking her first public performance of original music. She has since released five studio albums. The first three — A Little Bit of Everything, Saving Grace, and Wild Women Don't Get the Blues — were recorded in Ashland, Oregon with producer Tom Freeman. Her fourth and fifth albums, A Christmas Wish and I'm Not Broken, were produced and recorded at Monster Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with Brian Irwin. The song "Reap What You Sow," from I'm Not Broken, was featured on Wide Open Country's "5 Songs You Need to Hear." Nelson performs regularly at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and has opened for Josh Turner at Britt Festival.

In 2006, Nelson founded Life Is Rosey Jewelry, an Etsy shop offering handmade sterling silver, gold, copper, and bronze necklaces and guitar picks, each stamped with words and phrases. In 2015, the collection moved to its own dedicated website. In her personal time, Nelson writes songs with incarcerated individuals at the Davidson County Jail through a program called Redemption Songs, and with patients at a residential mental health treatment facility in Franklin, Tennessee.