The Greatest Female Broadway Stars, Ranked By Fans
These leading ladies have made audiences laugh, cry and wish that the show would never end. Some have had long-running careers, while others are just starting out, but they all have one thing in common: they’re all the best female performers to have ever graced Broadway stages. For that reason, they all deserve a spot on this list of the greatest female Broadway stars.
Channing not only won a total of three Tony Awards but also originated two of the most iconic Broadway roles in history: Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! and Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Because of these stunning performances, Carol Channing is regarded as one of the most amazing Broadway stars in history, alongside greats like Bernadette Peters, Ethel Merman, and Liza Minnelli. Other rising Broadway stars such as Megan Hilty and Lea Michele are joining the ranks of these great Broadway stars, making Broadway more fantastic as time goes on.
Whether for their powerful voices or skilled acting, the leading Broadway ladies on this list are known as the greatest female Broadway stars. Cast your votes below for the best female Broadway stars.- 1Age: 88
Credits Include: Victor/Victoria, Camelot, My Fair Lady
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- 2Age: 76
Credits Include: The Most Happy Fella, La Strada, Sunday in the Park with George
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- 3Age: 53
Credits Include: Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Once On This Island
- 4Age: 75
Credits Include: The Three Sisters, The Three Sisters, Sweeney Todd
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- 5Age: 55
Credits Include: Steel Pier, Funny Girl, Wicked
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- 6Dec. at 96 (1925-2022)
Credits Include: Hotel Paradiso, Mame, Sweeney Todd
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- 7Age: 53
Credits Include: Rent, Wicked, If/Then
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- 8Age: 53
Credits Include: Carousel, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun
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- 9Age: 49
Credits Include: Grease, Shrek the Musical, The Music Man
- 10Age: 37
Credits Include: Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Bring It On: The Musical
- 11Age: 82
Credits Include: I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Funny Girl
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- #91 of 554 onThe 250+ Best Singers Of All Time, Ranked
- 12Dec. at 76 (1908-1984)
Credits Include: Anything Goes, Hello, Dolly!, Annie Get Your Gun
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- #265 of 340 onThe 340+ Best Female Vocalists Ever, Ranked
- 13Age: 78
Credits Include: Flora, the Red Menace, Chicago, Victor/Victoria
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- 14Age: 91
Credits Include: Fade Out - Fade In, Moon Over Buffalo, Putting It Together
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- 15Dec. at 97 (1921-2019)
Credits Include: Show Girl, Hello, Dolly!, Lorelei
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- 16
Ariana DeBose
Credits Include: Pippin, Hamilton, A Bronx Tale The Musical
- 17Age: 77
Credits Include: The Real Thing, Death and the Maiden, Sunset Boulevard
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- 18Age: 80
Credits Include: Joe Egg, Six Degrees of Separation, Other Desert Cities
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- 19Age: 84
Credits Include: The Great White Hope, 6 Rms Riv Vu, The Visit
- 20Age: 72
Credits Include: Rumors, The Real Thing, Boeing-Boeing
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- 21Age: 51
Credits Include: Caroline, or Change, A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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Credits Include: Hamilton, Amelie, Into the Woods
- 23Dec. at 73 (1931-2005)
Credits Include: Two For The Seesaw, The Miracle Worker, Golda
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- 24Age: 53
Credits Include: Rent, The Lion King, Hamilton
- 25Age: 42
Credits Include: The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid, School of Rock
- 26
Cynthia Erivo
Credits Include: The Color Purple
- 27Age: 41
Credits Include: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
- 28Dec. at 85 (1909-1994)
Credits Include: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Gin Game, Foxfire
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- 29Age: 75
Credits Include: A Raisin in the Sun, Gem of the Ocean, Skeleton Crew
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- 30
Vanessa Williams
Credits Include: Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Death and the King's Horseman
- 31Age: 77
Credits Include: Pippin, Noises Off, Young Frankenstein
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- 32Age: 67
Credits Include: The Heiress, Doubt, The Glass Menagerie
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- 33Age: 58
Credits Include: Seven Guitars, King Hedley II, Fences
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- 34Age: 38
Credits Include: High Society
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- 35Age: 38
Credits Include: Wicked, Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots
- 36Age: 75
Credits Include: Lombardi, Other Desert Cities, The Assembled Parties
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- 37Age: 75
Credits Include: Redwood Curtain, Steel Pier, Curtains
- 38Age: 81
Credits Include: Betrayal, A Streetcar Named Desire, Follies
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- 39Age: 93
Credits Include: The Grapes of Wrath, Buried Child, The Inheritance
- 40Age: 68
Credits Include: A Doll's House, Part 2, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, Hillary and Clinton
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- 41Age: 46
Credits Include: Awake and Sing!, Exit The King, My Fair Lady
- 42Age: 53
Credits Include: Noises Off, Promises, Promises, Annie
- 43Age: 68
Credits Include: The Drowsy Chaperone, Elf - The Musical, The Prom
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- 44Age: 66
Credits Include: Les Miserables, Fun Home, Fiddler on the Roof
- 45Dec. at 91 (1933-2024)
Credits Include: West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago
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- 46
Laura Osnes
Age: 38Credits Include: Grease, Bonnie & Clyde, Bandstand
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- 47Age: 37More Lea Michele
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- 48Age: 65
Credits Include: Chicago, Fosse, The Addams Family
- 49Dec. at 89 (1925-2014)
Credits Include: Angel in the Wings, Company, Show Boat
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- 50
Renée Fleming
Credits Include: Living on Love, Carousel
- 51Dec. at 75 (1925-2000)
Credits Include: Damn Yankees, Sweet Charity, Chicago
- 52Dec. at 76 (1913-1990)
Credits Include: One Touch of Venus, South Pacific, Peter Pan
- 53Age: 44
Credits Include: Gypsy, Into the Woods, Meteor Shower
- 54Age: 82
Credits Include: Morning's at Seven, The Heiress, Angel
- 55
Swoosie Kurtz
Age: 79Credits Include: Fifth of July, The House of Blue Leaves, Frozen
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- 56Age: 48
Credits Include: The Light in the Piazza, The King and I, Kiss Me, Kate
- 57Age: 64
Credits Include: A View From the Bridge, 9 to 5: The Musical, Six Degrees of Separation
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- 58Age: 63
Credits Include: The Little Dog Laughed, Airline Highway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
- 59Age: 75
Credits Include: The Phantom of the Opera, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Diana
- 60Age: 54
Credits Include: The Real Thing, The Coast of Utopia, Oslo
