Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951)[1] is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

While still an unknown,[9] she was discovered by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who asked her to sing Mary Magdalene's part for the original audio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Her original version was not issued as a single until a cover version by Helen Reddy started moving up the U.S. charts; appearing concurrently on the charts (a rare event, not common since the 1950s, when different releases played in different parts of the United States), Elliman's original peaked at #28, while Reddy's cover peaked at #13.

[8] Her performance in the film as Mary Magdalene led to her being nominated for a 1974 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

[1] In 1971, aged 19, Elliman moved to New York City for the Broadway production of Jesus Christ, Superstar, where she met her first husband,[11] Bill Oakes, who was president of Robert Stigwood's RSO Records.

She was asked to sing backing vocals on Eric Clapton's version of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974.

She continued to work with Clapton, performing on his albums from 1974-77, including 461 Ocean Boulevard, There's One in Every Crowd, E. C. Was Here, No Reason to Cry, and Slowhand.

[12] The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100;[1] it is generally considered the high point of her recording career.

[citation needed] On August 16, 2017, Elliman was slated to sing for a Catholic school charity in Guam when she was stopped by customs for possession of marijuana and methamphetamine.

After spending a night in jail, she and her husband pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, continued with the planned concert, and were allowed to return to Hawaii on probation until their March 2018 sentencing.

They were ordered to perform community service and serve the remainder of a two-week sentence, Billboard magazine said, "by observing courtroom proceedings of a drug offender probation program in Honolulu.