Heather Headley

Tony and Grammy Award winner Heather Headley considers her multi-faceted career a blessing. Born on the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad, her family moved to the United States in the early ‘90s. In 1997, Heather won the role of Nala in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award-winning musical The Lion King. Soon after, Heather was asked to audition for the title role in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. Her portrayal of the Nubian princess Aida won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as well as the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In 2012, Heather returned to the stage, starring in The Bodyguard in London’s West End, gaining the critics’ praise and a new fan base overseas. In 2002 she released her debut, Grammy Award-nominated album, This is Who I Am, on RCA Records. Two songs, “He Is” and “I Wish I Wasn’t,” emerged as Top 5 R&B and Dance chart hits. In My Mind, her follow-up solo album, was released in January 2006 and included Heather’s first #1 hit, topping the Dance and R&B charts. In 2009, Heather released the Grammy Award-winning Audience of One. Her next album, Only One in The World, featuring songs written by Heather, was released in 2012. She made her return to Broadway in 2016, starring in the Tony Award-winning The Color Purple in the role of Shug Avery. In 2018, Heather had a recurring role on “Chicago Med” playing the formidable Gwen Garrett, and she can currently be seen as a series regular on the Netflix series “Sweet Magnolias.”