22 Celebs Who Starred In Broadway Shows Waaaay Before They Were Famous

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Sarah Jessica Parker was only 11 years old when she debuted in the Broadway show The Innocents in 1976. But most notably (and adorably) — she starred as Annie in, well, Annie, in 1979.

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TBH I was shocked to learn this, but Anna Kendrick actually began performing on Broadway! She was in the original production of the musical High Society in 1998, when she was only 12. This also earned her a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.

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Before her Victorious days and long before she became a pop star, Ariana began her career starring in the original production of 13 on Broadway! I have to say, this makes her perfect for her upcoming role as Glinda in Wicked (which we all can’t wait for, BTW).

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Ariana and Liz didn’t actually meet on Victorious; they were both in 13 together on Broadway in 2008! Just like Ariana, this is Liz’s only current Broadway credit — she’s now best known for Dynasty as well as Victorious.

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Yep, Stranger Things might have seemed like Sadie’s big break, but she was a Broadway icon long before that — most notably, she played Annie on Broadway as a kid from 2012-2013!

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James Earl Jones started out in the Broadway play Sunrise at Campobello back in 1958. He went on to star in multiple other plays, and actually won 3 Tony Awards on the way, before going to Hollywood in 1964.

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As if the Stranger Things cast wasn’t talented enough — yet another star from the show got their start on Broadway! Gaten’s first role was in Priscilla Queen of the Desert in 2011, and then he played the original Gavroche in a 2014 revival of Les Mis.

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We all know Kristen Bell can sing from her role as Anna in Frozen, but did you know she actually started on Broadway? She was in the original production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 2001, and was also in The Crucible the year after.

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You might know Morgan Freeman starred in several Broadway shows in the early 2010s, but you might not know that he began his career on Broadway — like, before Hollywood. Notably, his breakout role was as Rudolph in the all-black version of Hello Dolly! in 1967.

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I don’t know about you, but I had NO clue this Modern Family legend was a Broadway star before venturing into the world of TV. His first role was as the original Chip in On The Town. He was also in the original production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2005 (a personal favourite show of mine). 

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Anna Kendrick’s Pitch Perfect costar was on Broadway too! Skylar was in the original production of Spring Awakening in 2006— alongside none other than Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele. The three of them also went on to be in Glee together (yes, Skylar Astin was in Glee!).

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I’m pretty sure we all know Lea Michele started on Broadway, but hey, I just have to mention her here on the off chance you weren’t aware. Like Skylar, she was in the original cast of Spring Awakening, but you might not know that her first Broadway role was in Les Mis in 1995. In between those two productions, she also starred in Ragtime and Fiddler on the Roof.

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In 1968, Diane Keaton was an understudy in Hair, which is how she got her start. She was also nominated for a Tony for Play It Again, Sam in 1969 — just one year after being an understudy. You go girl!

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The absolute LEGEND Julie Andrews rose to fame on Broadway. Her first role was in The Boy Friend in 1954. She also starred in the original production of My Fair Lady two years later, and Camelot in 1960.

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Viola Davis scored her first Broadway role in the original cast of Seven Guitars, a play on Broadway that opened in 1996 — but she was also in an off-Broadway production of As You Like It in 1992. And later on, in 2001, she was in King Hedley II, for which she won a Tony Award.

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Before she became, like, the biggest pop star on the planet, Britney was actually an off-Broadway understudy in Ruthless! in 1992 — this was even before she was on The Mickey Mouse Club. She was only 10 years old at the time.

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And who took over for Britney Spears when she left her role as the understudy in Ruthless! but Natalie Portman. She was 10 years old as well. Then, in 1997, she played the title role in the Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank. 

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You obviously know John Travolta played Danny in the Grease movie, but did you know he played Dodie in Grease on Broadway before that? He also starred in the original production of Over Here! in 1974.

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I’m sure you know this already too, but Meryl Streep started on Broadway. Her first role was in Trelawny of the “Wells” in 1975, and went on to perform in several other shows over the next few years — notably, The Cherry Orchard and Happy End.

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In 2010, Adam Driver got his start in a Broadway play called Mrs. Warren’s Profession. The year after, he starred in another original Broadway production, Man and Boy. Of course, he went on to star in sooo many popular movies after that — but he did return to Broadway in 2019 to play the male lead in Burn This.

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You might know Reneé from her iconic role as Regina in the new Mean Girls movie musical — or from singing songs like “Poison Poison” and “Too Well.” But she actually grew up in the theatre world, making her Broadway debut as Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway in 2019.