Lilli Cooper
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lilli Cooper
| image = Hazbin Hotel QA (54258410606) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Cooper at Animate! Raleigh in 2025
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|03|04}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}
| years_active = 2006–present
| known_for = Tootsie,
Spring Awakening,
SpongeBob SquarePants,
Hazbin Hotel
| notable_works =
| parents = Chuck Cooper
Tisa Farley
| relatives =
| education = Vassar College (AB)
| spouse = Paul McLoughlin
| children = 2
| website = {{URL|https://www.lillicooper.com}}
}}
Lilli Cooper (born March 4, 1990) is an American actress and singer.{{Cite web |url=https://www.broadwayinbound.com/news/getting-to-know-spongebob-squarepants-lilli-cooper/ |title=Getting to Know SpongeBob SquarePants' Lilli Cooper |last=Cotton |first=Chanelle |date=November 28, 2017 |website=Broadway Inbound |publisher= |access-date=February 17, 2018 |quote=}}
Life and career
Cooper is the daughter of actor Chuck Cooper{{Cite web|last=Cooper|first=Lilli|date=September 18, 2007|title=Lilli Cooper: Full-Time Student, Full-Time Broadway Actress|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/6249/lilli-cooper-full-time-student-full-time-broadway-actress/|access-date=February 17, 2018|website=Broadway.com|publisher=John Gore Organization|quote=}} and Tisa Farley. Her grandfather acted at the Karamu House in Cleveland. She attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and Vassar College,{{Cite web |url=https://wptheater.org/cast-creatives/lilli-cooper/ |title=Lilli Cooper |last= |first= |date=January 31, 2017 |website=WP Theater |publisher= |access-date=February 17, 2018 |quote=}} graduating from the latter in 2012.{{cite news |last1=Barry |first1=John W. |title=Power at Vassar |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63179869/poughkeepsie-journal/ |accessdate=November 13, 2020 |work=Poughkeepsie Journal |date=June 22, 2018 |location=New York, Poughkeepsie |page=E 10|via = Newspapers.com}}
She was the standby for Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, and originated the role of Martha Bessell in Spring Awakening.{{Cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/At-This-Performance-WICKEDs-Reigning-Elphaba-Standby-Lilli-Cooper-20150325 |title=At This Performance: WICKED's Reigning 'Elphaba' Standby Lilli Cooper! |last=Peterson |first=Tyler |date=March 25, 2015 |website=BroadwayWorld |publisher= |access-date=February 17, 2018 |quote=}} She also played Hélène Kuragina in the American Repertory Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 in 2015. She originated the role of Sandy Cheeks in the Broadway production of SpongeBob SquarePants, which opened on December 4, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/interview/college-broadway-lilli-cooper-ethan-slater-team-again-spongebob-squarepants/|title=From College to Broadway: Lilli Cooper + Ethan Slater Team Again for 'SpongeBob SquarePants'|work=Backstage|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=December 21, 2017|last=Mink|first=Casey}} In September 2018, Cooper played Julie Nichols in the musical adaptation of the 1982 film Tootsie in its Chicago debut and reprised the role on Broadway in spring 2019, receiving a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her performance.{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Mark |title=Tony-winner Chuck Cooper cheers Tony-nominee daughter, Lilli |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/570888883/?terms=%22Lilli%20Cooper%22&match=1 |accessdate=November 13, 2020 |work=Asbury Park-Press |agency=Associated Press |date=June 5, 2019 |location=New Jersey, Asbury Park |page=E 22|via = Newspapers.com}}
In 2022, she played the role of Doc on Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Also in 2022, she took part in the HBO documentary film Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, which saw the 15 year reunion of the original cast of the musical.
In 2024, she served as the voice of the character Velvette in Hazbin Hotel.{{Cite web |work=IMDB |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3762007/ |title=Lilli Cooper}}
Cooper lives in New York City with her husband Paul. Their first child, a son named Bodie, was born in September 2021. Their second child, a son named Desi, was born in April 2024.{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C5tVpXhO5le/?img_index=1 |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=www.instagram.com}}
Theatre credits
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Production ! Role ! Notes |
| 2006
| rowspan="2" | Spring Awakening | rowspan="2" | Martha Bessell |
| 2006–08 |
| rowspan="3" | 2014
| Lucy Brown | Atlantic Theater Company • Off-Broadway |
| rowspan="3" | Wicked
| Elphaba understudy/standby | Munchkinland national tour |
| rowspan="2" | Elphaba standby
| Regent Theatre • Australian tour |
| 2014–15
| Gershwin Theatre • Broadway |
| 2015–16 |
| rowspan=2|2016 |
| Tick, Tick... Boom!
| Susan | Acorn Theater • Off-Broadway |
| 2017
| Sundown, Yellow Moon | Ray | Second Stage Theater (McGinn/Cazale Theater) • Off-Broadway |
| 2017–18
| SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical | Palace Theatre • Broadway |
| 2018
| rowspan="2" | Tootsie | rowspan="2" | Julie Nichols |
| 2019–2020
| Marquis Theatre • Broadway |
| 2020
| Lottie Ames |
| 2022
| POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive | Chris | Shubert Theatre • Broadway |
| rowspan=2|2023
| Oliver! | Nancy |
| The Cottage
| Marjorie | Helen Hayes Theater • Broadway |
| rowspan=2|2024
| Titanic | Kate Murphey |
| Edge of the World
|Kath |Lynn F. Angelson Theater[https://www.theatermania.com/news/nick-blaemire-and-ethan-slaters-edge-of-the-world-to-have-one-night-only-concert_1742224/ Nick Blaemire and Ethan Slater’s Edge of the World to Have One-Night-Only Concert] |
Television credits
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |
| 2022–present
| Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock | Doc | 22 episodes |
| 2024
| Velvette (voice) | 2 episodes |
Accolades
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Awards ! Category ! Work ! Result |
| align="center" | 2019
| Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Tootsie | {{nom}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/195948/tootsies-lilli-cooper-on-her-cuckoo-bananas-tony-nomination-more/ |title=Tootsie{{'}}s Lilli Cooper on Her 'Cuckoo Bananas' Tony Nomination & More |last=Moynihan |first=Caitlin |date=May 24, 2019 |website=Broadway.com |publisher=John Gore Organization |access-date=July 6, 2019 |quote=}} |
| align="center" | 2024
| Broadway.com Audience Awards | Favorite Featured Actress in a Play | {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IBDB name|449495}}
- {{IMDb name|3762007}}
- {{iobdb name|32111}}
- {{Twitter}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Lilli}}
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
Category:Vassar College alumni
{{US-theat-actor-stub}}