Caitlin Kinnunen | |
|---|---|
 Kinnunen in 2019 | |
| Born | November 8, 1991 Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Website | caitlinkinnunen |
Caitlin Kinnunen (born November 8, 1991) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Emma Nolan in the musical The Prom, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2019.
Early life and education
Kinnunen grew up in Camano Island, Washington. Her parents are Betsy Stam, an administrator at Everett Community College and Randy Kinnunen, a former law enforcement agent.[1][2] She was homeschooled. Her parents enrolled her and her sister in theatre classes as children so they would not be afraid of public speaking.
She moved to New York in 2008 to pursue her theatre career.[1]
Acting career
Kinnunen made her Broadway debut at age 16, as a replacement for the role of Thea in Spring Awakening. In 2010, Kinnunen was the understudy for the role of Natalie in the national tour of Next to Normal.[3]
Following these theater performances, Kinnunen took on a number of television and film roles. She was the lead character in the film Sweet Little Lies in 2011 and a minor character in It's Kind of a Funny Story, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and The Intern.[4]
She was next seen in the 2013 pre-Broadway performances of The Bridges of Madison County as Carolyn, and she continued the role when the production moved to Broadway the following year.[5] The show closed on May 18, 2014, after 137 performances.[6]
In 2014, Kinnunen auditioned for the role of Alyssa in a reading for The Prom.[7] She ultimately was cast as the lead character, Emma Nolan, and went on to perform the role in Atlanta in 2016, before the show moved to Broadway in 2018. For this performance, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.[8] Kinnunen and co-star Isabelle McCalla's kiss during their performance at the 2018 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade made national news as the first LGBT kiss in the parade's history.[9] The production closed on August 11, 2019, after 23 previews and 309 regular performances.[10]
Personal life
In 2019, in an interview for Nylon, Kinnunen announced, after years of identifying as a straight ally, that she was dating a woman.[11] She has since come out as bisexual/queer.[12]
She has type 1 diabetes.[13]
Acting credits
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | It's Kind of a Funny Story | Science Geek | |
| 2011 | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Student | |
| 2011 | Sweet Little Lies | Bess | Lead role |
| 2012 | Legacy | Claire | Short film |
| 2015 | The Intern | Techie #2 | |
| 2022 | You're the Best | Emmy | Short film |
Television
| Year | Network | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Law & Order: SVU | Amy Wagner | Episode: "Turmoil" | |
| 2015 | The Knick | Suzy | Episode: "Whiplash" | |
| 2017 | American Vandal | Anonymous Student | Episode: "Nailed" | |
| 2017 | Younger | Heidi | Episode: "Post Truth" | |
| 2021 | Our Ladies Of Brooklyn | Sister Frances | Episode: Pilot | Lead role |
Theatre
| Year(s) | Production | Role | Location | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Spring Awakening | Thea (replacement) | Eugene O'Neill Theater | Broadway |
| 2010 | Next to Normal | Natalie (understudy) | National Tour | Regional |
| 2013 | The Bridges of Madison County | Carolyn | Williamstown Theatre Festival | Out-of-town tryout |
| 2014 | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre | Broadway | ||
| 2016 | The Prom | Emma Nolan | Alliance Theatre | Regional |
| 2018 | Fun Home | Medium Allison | Weston Playhouse | Regional |
| 2018-19 | The Prom | Emma Nolan | Longacre Theatre | Broadway |
| 2021-22 | Rescue Rue | Alex | Daryl Roth Theatre | Off-Broadway |
| 2022 | Jesus Christ Superstar | Mary Magdalene | ACT of Connecticut | Regional |
| 2022 | The Magnificent Seven | Jaycie Phelps | Theatre Row | Off-Broadway |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 20th Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards | Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical | The Prom | Nominated | [14] |
| Favorite Onstage Pair (with Isabelle McCalla) | Nominated | ||||
| 73rd Tony Awards | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Nominated | [15] | ||
References
- 1 2 Fiege, Gale (June 6, 2019). "Local theater helped propel Camano Island native to stardom". HeraldNet.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07.
- ↑ "Everett Community College Selects Starfish by Hobsons as Student Success Platform | Hobsons". www.hobsons.com. July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-07-08.
- ↑ "Caitlin Kinnunen". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ "Caitlin Kinnunen". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ "The Bridges of Madison County". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ Hetrick, Adam (May 1, 2014). "New Musical The Bridges of Madison County, Starring Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale, to Close on Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ Kovan, Brianna (2018-11-16). "The Prom's Caitlin Kinnunen Is a Broadway Heroine With a Difference". ELLE. Archived from the original on 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ "Full List of the 2019 Tony Award Nominees". The New York Times. 2019-04-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ Romano, Nick (November 22, 2018). "The Prom celebrates 'first LGBTQ kiss' in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade history". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ McPhee, Ryan (August 11, 2019). "Last Dance: The Prom Ends Broadway Run". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ↑ Henderson, Taylor (2019-04-15). "After Her Viral Thanksgiving Parade Kiss, Broadway Star Comes Out IRL". www.pride.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ Massony, Theresa (June 3, 2019). "8 People Reveal How They Feel Beautiful After Coming Out & It's So Touching". Elite Daily. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07.
- ↑ Meadows, Megan (January 23, 2014). "The Bridges of Madison County's Caitlin Kinnunen on the Haircut That Inspired Her Career & Her Life-Saving Costume". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-25. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ↑ Evans, Greg (May 16, 2019). "'Be More Chill', 'Pretty Woman' Top Broadway's Audience Choice Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ↑ Melas, Chloe (June 10, 2019). "Tony Awards 2019: 'Hadestown' wins Best Musical and leads the way with 8 wins". Cable News Network. Retrieved March 16, 2020.