Laura Benanti (born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, winning the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2016 she starred in She Loves Me as Amalia Balash, which was televised. She played Elsa Schräder in the 2013 NBC television production of The Sound of Music Live!, appeared as Sadie Stone in Nashville in 2014 and 2015 and that same year began playing twin sisters Alura and Astra in the TV series Supergirl. Beginning in 2017, Benanti appeared as Edie Randall in the TBS comedy The Detour. Since 2016, she has had a recurring role as First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Filmography

• 2025Everything's Going to Be Great — Tallulah Bankhead
• 2025Kinda Pregnant — Daisy's Mom
• Elsbeth — Nadine Clay
• 2024Goodrich — Naomi
• 2024The Shade — Renee Beckman
• 2023No Hard Feelings — Allison Becker
• The Gilded Age — Susan Blane
• Gossip Girl — Kiki Hope
• 2021Here Today — Francine
• Mayor of Kingstown — Cindy Stephens
• Slugfest — Louise Simonson
• 2021Worth — Karen Donato
• Ziwe — Jane, Fake Ziwe
• 2021tick, tick... BOOM! — Judy
• 2020Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020 — Self - Host, Producer
• 2020Laura Benanti: Live From the West Side
• Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure — Lady Caine (voice)
• 2017Tangled: Before Ever After — Lady Caine (voice)
• 2016She Loves Me — Amalia
• 2016Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale — Melania Trump
• The $100,000 Pyramid
• The Detour — Edie
• Supergirl — Alura Zor-El / Astra
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Melania Trump, Self - Guest, Juror 11
• Younger — Quinn Tyler
• 2014Russian Broadway Shut Down — Sophia
• 2013The Sound of Music Live! — Baroness Elsa Schrader
• Elementary — Anne Barker
• Go On — Lauren Schneider
• The Playboy Club — Bunny Carol-Lynne
• 2010Meskada — Allison Connor
• Nurse Jackie — Mia
• Royal Pains — Shelby Shackelford
• The Good Wife — Renata Ellard
• Eli Stone — Beth Keller
• Life on Mars — Denise Carling
• 2006Falling for Grace — Alexandra
• 2006Take the Lead — Tina
• 2005Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards — Cinderella (segment "Into the Woods") (archive footage)
• Starved — Billie Frasier
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Maria Grazie
• The Ditch
• Untitled Dan Perlman Project

Appearances as themselves (12)

• Shut Up Evan — Self - Guest
• 2022Becoming Benanti: The Role of a Lifetime — Self (pre-recorded video)
• 2022Reopening: The Broadway Revival — Self
• Would I Lie to You? — Self
• Stars in the House — Self, Self - Host
• The Tamron Hall Show — Self - Guest
• 2017She Loves Me: Behind the Curtain — Self
• Match Game — Self - Panelist
• Beat Bobby Flay — Self
• 2010Sondheim! The Birthday Concert — Self
• Tony Awards — Self - Performer, Self - Winner, Self - Nominee
• A Backstage Look at "The Wedding Singer" on Broadway — Self