Laura Michelle Kelly (born 4 March 1981) is an English actress and singer, best known for originating the roles of Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins in the West End, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland on Broadway.

[1] Kelly's West End musical credits include Beauty and the Beast, Whistle Down The Wind as Swallow (2000) (with a 10-year-old Jessie J), Les Misérables as Eponine at the Palace Theatre (2001), Mamma Mia!

Mary Poppins premiered in September 2004 at the Bristol Hippodrome, followed in December by its opening in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre.

For her role as the title character, Kelly earned rave reviews as well as the 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Kelly and Michael Ball performed at the Hackney Empire on 1 August 2006 to celebrate Anthony Newley for BBC Radio 2 which was broadcast on 29 September 2006.

On 27 August 2007, Kelly made her BBC Proms debut, performing "The Prayer" from the film Quest for Camelot alongside Michael Ball.

[5] During 2007–08, Kelly played the role of Galadriel in the original London production of The Lord of the Rings – The Musical at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

[citation needed] She played the dual role of a nun and former Coronation Street actor Johnny Briggs's trophy wife in an ITV1 production of Agatha Christie's Nemesis.

[citation needed] Kelly appeared alongside Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum in David Mamet's play Speed-the-Plow at London's Old Vic theatre from 1 February to 26 April 2008 and at the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen, Germany, in May 2008.

[citation needed] Kelly voiced "Dorothy", the patient's girlfriend in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's production of The Screwtape Letters.

[6] Beginning 12 October 2009, Kelly reprised the role of Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway, replacing Scarlett Strallen.

[7] Kelly temporarily left the cast of Mary Poppins on 6 March 2011, where she was replaced by originator Ashley Brown, to shoot a film.

[15] On 2 June 2014, it was announced that Kelly would star as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in the world premiere of the new musical, Finding Neverland, which played at the American Repertory Theater from July through September 2014.