Judy Kuhn, a native New Yorker, made her Broadway debut in Rupert Holmes’s comedic musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, in 1985. After appearing the following year in the short-lived musical, Rags, Kuhn got the role of Cosette in the Broadway premiere of Les Misérables and earned her first Tony® nomination for the part. In 1988, she played Florence in the musical, Chess, music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (formerly of ABBA) and lyrics by Tim Rice. She earned both Tony® and Drama Desk nominations for her performance in the show.
Kuhn earned her third Tony® nomination in 1994 for her role as Amalia Balash in the Broadway revival of Bock and Harnick’s musical, She Loves Me, and returned to the cast of the revival of Les Mis in 2007, this time playing Fantine, until the run came to an end.
Trained as an operatic soprano at Oberlin, Judy Kuhn sang the songs of Pocahontas in the Disney films. She performs frequently off Broadway and in regional theater, particularly Chicago. She won an Obie Award for her performance in Eli’s Comin’, a staging of songs by Laura Nyro.
