PERSON: Patti LuPone

Self-employed

Actress, Concert performer

Patti Ann LuPone is an American actress and singer. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. Known for playing bold, resilient women in musical theater, she’s received numerous accolades, including three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and two Grammy Awards in addition to two Emmy Award nominations. She was inducted to the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006.

LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Italian-American parents Angela Louise, a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, NY. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century Spanish-born Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. Her father’s side came from Abruzzo, while her mother’s side is Sicilian. Lucille Ball was a family friend, having attending grade school with LuPone’s mother. Her older brother Robert LuPone was a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. She grew up Catholic. LuPone is a dual citizen of Italy and the United States.

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