We obtain this information from publically accessible sources and endeavor to make sure it's correct. In June, Mark Shenton listed Ellis on his article about his "favourite leading musical ladies" in West End theatre, complimenting her for bringing "a different kind of pop passion to her voice that has stood her in good stead for [West End] shows." From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. 2012 In January 2012, Ellis auditioned for the debut series of The Voice UK, a reality television singing competition. [It has] big orchestras and big ballad-y vocals." Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16. At 43 years old, Kerry Ellis height not available right now. Kerry Ellis; Kerry Ellis. The whole Palladium experience was terrific because it had a real family feel to the evening. This concert version was later released on DVD and CD and screened on US network television. Menu. In April, she returned to the After Show with David Bedella at the Alleycat in London's Soho to chat with David Bedella. Alongside touring theatres across the UK with Miss Saigon, Ellis rehearsed for the lead role of Fantine in the West End production of Les Misrables shortly prior to the end of Miss Saigon's run, prematurely disembarking on 9 June 2005. One of Taurus's best qualities is being a good companion. In May, she led her own solo concert, entitled Kerry Ellis in Concert, at the London Palladium for one night only with various special guests including Brian May and West End performers, in addition to performing at the Guildford School of Acting choir's concert with Ruthie Henshall, returning to West End Eurovision to present the West End Wilma Volunteer Of The Year award and also headlining the 9th annual Spotlight Ball. A DVD of the tour will also be available by Christmas 2013. James Townsend's wife is Kerry Ellis. After attending Anthems: The Concert, critic Mark Shenton of The Stage hailed Ellis, a "small but fierce and fiery performer," as "this generation's Elaine Paige, with a similarly soaring, scorching voice." She played the role of Svetlana and upon reflection, stated that to star at the Royal Albert Hall, work with an "amazing" company and sing alongside those particular cast members "was a dream come true." Alfie Ellis-Townsend (25/10/2013) They have been phenomenal because even though I can take Alfie with me and look after him during the day, he cant come with me on stage not yet at least.. In August 2018, Ellis played at the Glamis Proms(Saturday August 2018) At Glamis Castle, Glamis, Scotland. [82], Other performances in 2013 include her leading a week of cabaret shows at The Pheasantry in London in February and at Tiger Tracks, a three-week tiger conservation event, performing a free outdoor charity gig at St Pancras railway station with Brian May in March. The tour will be a similar show to the one I did at the Palladium and will allow everyone who couldnt get tickets for that one-off show to hear these amazing songs. Ellis made her first professional stage appearance in 1998 and went on to make her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady as Martine McCutcheon's understudy in the role of Eliza Doolittle. [from old catalog]; Townshend, Charles Hervey, 1833- [from old catalog]; Smith, Isaac Townsend, 1813-1906. [21] She also stated, "It was a great step up for me. Kerry Ellis trend. After meeting Queen guitarist Brian May in 2002, Ellis expanded her repertoire as a solo artist. [8][19], Following her graduation, Ellis became first understudy to Marti Webb in a UK concert tour of The Magic of the Musicals in 1998, required on several occasions in Webb's absence, yet took a hiatus in 1999 to board cruise ship MS Voyager of the Seas, employed as lead vocalist in the ship's entertainment staff. That conviction never left me," he professed. [15] She also spent the summers of 1995 and 1997 with the company to earn money by singing many of their cabaret shows. Kerry Ellis at the London Palladium. Kerry Elliss biography and horoscope. In February 2015, Ellis took over from Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella in Cats at the London Palladium.[93]. However, StrictlyWeddings.com is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. (Image: Archant), The only difficult thing is taking him away from my husband, James, who misses him dreadfully. Anthems: The Tour continued at venues throughout Great Britain and finished at RAF Cranwell in July 2011 where the pair headlined a special titled Anthems in the Park. "[65] With John Partridge, Ellis also presented the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards. Since then, the couple have added over 2,000 to their fundraising, with just 500 to go to hit their target. Fabricated within the space of nine months, Anthems, Ellis' debut studio album, was released in mid September 2010. "From the moment I first heard Kerry sing, I was entranced, and felt the conviction that I would one day make an album for her. The same month, she also performed with Michael Ball and Gina Beck in Summertime, a musical theatre event celebrating the music of George Gershwin, at London's Kenwood House,[85] in addition to talking to Edward Seckerson in his Singular Sensations series at Charing Cross Theatre, London, and playing an acoustic set with Brian May at the Hope 4 Apes charity ball, hosted by Sir David Attenborough, at The Savoy, London. Alfie Townsend{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfie Townsend", "gender": "Male" }, View James Townsend's Family Tree and History, Ancestry and Genealogy, View Kerry Ellis's Family Tree and History, Ancestry and Genealogy. The same month, she flew to Florence in Italy to perform with Italian Queen tribute band Killer Queen, but returned to England to sing with Brian May at concert titled Rock Against Cancer in Devizes. Bookmark this page and come back for updates. She has not been previously engaged. He also made reference to her cult following built from her Wicked days, labelling her "our local green goddess of song." By November 1999, she had made her first television appearance on Children in Need for their special Pudsey the Musical and was featured in a jingle for Capital FM. In August 2018, Ellis played at the Glamis Proms at Glamis Castle, the childhood home to Her Majesty, Elizabeth The Queen Mother. "[63] Anthems: The Tour continued at venues throughout Great Britain and finished at RAF Cranwell in July 2011 where the pair headlined a special titled Anthems in the Park. This concert version was later released on DVD and CD and screened on US network television. Open in app; Facebook; Tweet; Reddit; Mail; Embed; Permalink ; During 2007, she also made numerous appearances at concerts and events, singing songs from the musical, including West End Live in Leicester Square, Walk for Life in Hyde Park, Kids Week in Covent Garden, and the annual Gay Pride Festival in Trafalgar Square in addition to making an appearance on lunchtime television chat show Loose Women where she performed, as Elphaba, the Wicked song "The Wizard and I". The record industry is in such a crazy place at the moment that you have to be Katy Perry or Justin Bieber to register with them. She played the role of Svetlana and upon reflection, stated that to star at the Royal Albert Hall, work with an "amazing" company and sing alongside those particular cast members "was a dream come true." Emey 'Amory' Townsend b. c 1702. Kerry Ellis' husband James Townsend with their son Alfie. Generation X, known as the "sandwich" generation, was born between 1965 and 1980. Like every mum with a new baby, Suffolk-born West End star Kerry Ellis, had to deal with the big question: whens the right time to go back to work? Ethel was born on April 2 1893, in Bollinger Co, Missouri. Meanwhile, the full details of his birth date are still under review. This was followed by a UK and European tour with Jason Donovan and the Kaiser Chiefs Ricky Wilson in the revival of Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds in 2011 which then fed into a second tour with Brian May, the Acoustic by Candlelight tour, in 2012-13. Ellis has performed in concerts across the world in addition to headlining solo concert tours like Anthems: The Tour and The Born Free Tour. View Kerry Ellis height, weight & body stats Kerry Ellis Born Kerry Jane Ellis (1979-05-06)6 May 1979 (age 43) Haughley, Suffolk, England Nationality English Other names Kerry Jane Townsend (legal married name) Education Laine Theatre Arts Occupation Actress, singer Years active 1998-present Spouse(s) James Townsend (m. 2011) Children In December, they also paired up again to perform for a Christmas special of Weekend Wogan, which was broadcast later in the month on BBC Radio 2. Aside her professional endeavors, Ellis married her long-term boyfriend James Townsend on 8 September 2011 following their engagement in November 2010. The pair then took The Born Free Tour to mainland Europe in July in addition to performing at the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland followed by a performance at the 2013 Guitare en scne festival 2013 in the east of France. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Her name later trended on social networking site Twitter. Ellis also performed at Broadway on Broadway in Times Square, recorded a song titled "Behind these Walls" for Scott Alan's album Keys and released her first extended play Wicked in Rock (2008) during her time in New York. In June, she performed in front of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the naming ceremony of the newest addition of the P&O Princess Cruises' fleet, Royal Princess, before going back on the road to do a second leg of The Born Free Tour in the UK and Ireland with Brian May.[84]. In between she and Brian went into the studio to record her debut album Anthems which they launched with two sell-out concerts at The Royal Albert Hall followed by a national tour in 2011. That conviction never left me," he professed. However, there are still times when they have to be places at the last minute. Furthermore, she joined former We Will Rock You cast member Peter Johansson in his Swedish concert tour Champions of Rock which went to Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Vnersborg, Stockholm, rebro, Uppsala and Norrkping in October 2009. The set included songs by Avril Lavigne, Eva Cassidy, Dusty Springfield, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys and Shakira. The pair then took The Born Free Tour to mainland Europe in July in addition to performing at the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland followed by a performance at the 2013 Guitare en scne festival 2013 in the east of France. Lets take a look at Kerry Ellis past relationships, ex-boyfriends and previous hookups. In August, she performs in West End Anthems, a musical theatre revue, at the Glow venue in Bluewater in Kent and will be a special guest at An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall at London's Cadogan Hall and a special guest at The Velma Celli Show at the Hippodrome Casino, London. Her nickname is Kerry Jane Townsend (legal married name). [36] During Menzel's run, Ellis played Elphaba on nine occasions in Menzel's absence; some fans turned up at the theatre expressly hoping to witness Ellis. The tour was met with mostly positive reviews with critics praising the meshing of May's sound with Ellis' voice. "[45], Ellis returned to the West End production of Wicked on 1 December 2008 and spent a further five months as Elphaba where, ultimately, she ended her time with the musical. In 2013, she was named the favourite West End Elphaba in a Whatsonstage.com poll asking the public to vote for their favourite actress who had played the role in London. Right here at FameChain. [72][73] The same month, the pair performed "Born Free" at the 2011 Born Free Foundation Gala Dinner at the Savoy Hotel to celebrate the 80th birthday of its founder Virginia McKenna and teamed up again to perform at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. News | Kerry Ellis Web", "Kerry Ellis returns to 20th anniversary concert tour of RENT! Also learn how She earned most of networth at the age of 41 years old? [46] She played her last performance as Elphaba on 9 May 2009 and was succeeded by Alexia Khadime two days later. On 14 July 2014, it was announced that Ellis will once again rejoin the West End production of Wicked replacing Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. She was scared and excited but enjoyed it," said agent Greatorex with first understudy Jay adding, "She was fantastic. Block, making her the first Wicked actress to transfer from the West End to Broadway. Following this, she appeared as the title role in a Gary Griffin-directed workshop production titled Helen of Troy and played the role of Mary in Merrily We Roll Along at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. In addition to her musical work, Ellis involves herself in charity work for the Born Free Foundation with May and is the patron of several arts organisations. In February 2015, Ellis took over from Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella in Cats at the London Palladium. The same month, she flew to Florence in Italy to perform with Italian Queen tribute band Killer Queen, but returned to England to sing with Brian May at concert titled Rock Against Cancer in Devizes. According to our Database, He has no children. In 2002, they recorded an orchestral version of the song "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". She was a student at Stowmarket High School. Among other participants from the London theatre community, Ellis additionally lent her voice to "inspirational" videos that were released upon to video-sharing website YouTube for the "It Gets Better" campaign a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among young LGBT people aiming to "provide hope to youth struggling with their identity. Kerry Ellis also has a ruling planet of Venus. Although a relative unknown and in a small part, Ellis met positive reviews for her performance: a critic labelled her stronger than Menzel who attained the female lead and argued that Ellis should have received it instead. The sold-out performance at The O2 Arena was recorded and was released in cinemas in April and will be on DVD in November. [31] A BBC critic opined, "Although not on stage much, the brief moments with [Ellis'] Ellen are emotional and compassionate as well as vocally beautiful. She has also paired with Craig Adams on his new musical Defect; she recorded a demo with Oliver Tompsett entitled "If Only You Could Know" for the musical in June. She counts herself really lucky that she works in a profession where taking your child to work is not a huge obstacle. The Seventies saw many women's rights, gay rights, and environmental movements. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Kerry Ellis was married to In June, Mark Shenton listed Ellis on his article about his "favourite leading musical ladies" in West End theatre, complimenting her for bringing "a different kind of pop passion to her voice that has stood her in good stead for [West End] shows. Your IP: The last two performances were later broadcast in December on British television channel S4C and on BBC Radio 2 respectively. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Of the concerts, Ellis commented, "It's finally something that I can do as me, as opposed to being in a show as a character. [7][8] Her first stage role was in The Wizard of Oz at the Wolsey Theatre in nearby Ipswich where she played a Munchkin at the age of 9. In December 2014, Ellis released a double album, together with fellow musical theatre stars, Louise Dearman and Ben Forster, of Alexander S. Bermange's three-person musical, The Route to Happiness. ", "Khadime Plays Wicked Elphaba, Ellis Back 1 Dec", "Full List: Your Theatregoers' Choice Award Winners", "London's Kerry Ellis Will Join Broadway's, "The Fans Have Spoken! The weekend prior to the album's release, Ellis was accompanied by May on guitar at BBC's Proms in the Park where she performed songs from Anthems as well as a medley of Queen songs. Family: She married James Townsend in 2011. She did say that long-time musical partner Craig Adams would be involved adding his elegant arrangements to the songs. The plan is to have the album out by the end of the summer so its ready for Kerrys autumn tour. The school now offers annual scholarships in both Ellis' and Langford's names. Her return to the stage for the first time almost a year, Ellis replaced Jodie Prenger in the role of Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh's London revival of Oliver! Block; making the first British actress to play Elphaba on Broadway and the first to transfer from the West End to Broadway mirroring original cast member Idina Menzel who transferred from Broadway to London to open the production. She cited the role of Elphaba as the "most challenging [that she had] ever undertaken" stating that it was "a massive journey" to go on at every performance and admits that Wicked "changed [her] life" in terms of boosting her recognition within the entertainment industry. James Townsend's current age falls around his mid-30s, according to our close sources. Kerry Ellis will celebrate 44rd birthday on a Saturday 6th of May 2023. . Ellis gave birth to her second child, a boy called Freddie, on 30 November 2015. She has also worked sporadically in film and television. [8][10], When her parents took her to see the West End production of Les Misrables for her thirteenth birthday, "that's when I knew I wanted to be on the stage. Kerry Ellis (Kerry Jane Ellis) was born on 6 May, 1979 in Haughley, United Kingdom, is an Actress, singer. Describing herself as a hyperactive young girl, she attended dance classes at the Ann Holland School of Theatre Dance and performed in local shows and pantomimes whilst also enjoying swimming and horse-riding. She has continued to perform, appearing at a charity concert of Children of Eden alongside other West End performers at London's Prince of Wales Theatre in January which provoked Mark Shenton to label Ellis and Louise Dearman as "the twin goddesses of West End musical voices." "[14], During her run in My Fair Lady, Queen guitarist Brian May and music director Mike Dixon came to see the production. The musical initially played at the Lyttelton Theatre at the Royal National Theatre from 6 March 2001 to 20 June 2001 but later transferred to Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with shows beginning 21 July 2001. Kerry was born in the 1970s. She is the daughter of Terry John Ellis (father) and Sandra Ann Reed (mother). Explore how the celebrity world connects. 185.222.158.33 She also provided vocals for "The Badger Swagger", a song with Brian May and Slash in support of Team Badger, a coalition of organisations teaming up to fight the planned cull of badgers in the UK, which was released on 3 June 2013, and also for a charity single with Viva!