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Rachel Bay Jones Biography
Rachel Bay Jones is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin and Evan Hansen’s mother, Heidi Hansen, in Dear Evan Hansen. The final season earned her Rachel the 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Rachel Bay Jones Age |How Old Is Rachel Bay Jones
Rachel was born on November 8, 1969 in New York City. She is 49 years old as of 2018.
Rachel Bay Jones Family | Rachel Bay Jones Parents
Rachel was born in New York City and grew up in Boca Raton, Florida. Much is not known about her parents and siblings though her parents were both Shakespearean actors. She has one sibling, her brother Darren.
Rachel Bay Jones College
Rachel did not attend college. She dropped out of high school to perform in a local play, then moved to New York City to pursue acting at 19.
Rachel Bay Jones Partner | Rachel Bay Jones Married
She has a daughter, Miranda, and is partner to actor Benim Foster. Benim Foster is an actor and producer who is best known for his roles in Golden Boy (2018), The Deuce (2017) and The Blacklist (2013).
Rachel Bay Jones Dear Evan Hansen |Who Does Rachel Bay Jones Play In Dear Evan Hansen
Rachel portrayed Evan’s mother Heidi in the musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015. She reprised the role in the Off-Broadway production at the Second Stage Theatre in May 2016,and then on Broadway starting in November 2016. At the 71st Tony Awards, she won for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Heidi Hansen. Ben Platt won for Best Actor in a Musical.
After leaving Dear Evan Hansen on August 5, 2018, Jones performed at several small venues in Something Beautiful, a one-woman cabaret show that draws music from her expansive career and bringing meaning from her life into the lyrics.
Rachel appears in the television comedy God Friended Me which premiered in 2018. She plays the role of Susan.
On June 17 2019 she appeared in the concert of Sweet Charity at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center , presented by the Transport Group.
Rachel is expected to star in Next to Normal at the Kennedy Center in the Center’s January through February 2020 Broadway Center Stage series.
Rachel Bay Jones Modern Family
Rachel guest starred on the January 2019 16th episode of “Modern Family,” as Dylan’s mom and former music video star!
Rachel Bay Jones Pippin
Rachel was one of the original cast members starring in the revival of Pippin, playing Catherine, Pippin’s lover, during the entire run.
Rachel’s first Broadway role was as an understudy for the lead role of Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis in 1989. She was in the touring company of Grand Hotel ,as well as other national and international tours, performing Rent in German and Evita in Spanish in the early 1990s. Rachel performed in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair as the replacement for Mother, Buddahdalirama, and Member Of The Tribe.
Rachel won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for Dear Evan Hansen. This was her first Tony nomination and first win. Her other Broadway credits include Pippin, Hair (Mother, Buddhadalirama); Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (u/s-performed Lucia).
Rachel Bay Jones Tv Shows
2019 Modern Family Farrah Marshall
2018 God Friended Me Susan (Cara’s mother)
Rachel Bay Jones Films
2019 Critical Thinking Principal Kestel
2018 Ben Is Back Beth
Rachel Bay Jones Theatre credits
2015 – 2018 – Dear Evan Hansen Heidi Hansen
2015 – First Daughter Suite Rosalynn Carter / Laura Bush
2012 – 2013 – Pippin Catherine
2011 – Hello Again The Actress
2011 – A Christmas Story: The Musical Mother
2010 – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Swing
2009 – Hair Mother / Buddahdirama / Ensemble
2000 – Fiddler on the Roof Hodel
1990 – Grand Hotel Hildegarde Bratts / Trude
1989 – Meet Me in St. Louis Ensemble
Rachel Bay Jones Net Worth
Rachel is earning huge amount of money from her acting career. However she has not yet revealed her estimated net worth.
Rachel Bay Jones Interview
Here’s what Rachel had to say about being a devoted working mom who’s staying right here.
BWW Detroit: Does God Friended Me shoot in New York? And tell us about your screen schedule and how you balance parenting with being in a television series or Broadway show.
Rachel Bay Jones: It shoots throughout NYC, both on location and at Steiner studios in Brooklyn. My schedule with the show makes it a lot easier to be around for my daughter, and I’m grateful for that time after working a theatre schedule for so long. I can be around for her weekends and dinners and bedtimes, and that’s new.
BWW Detroit: You seem to be developing a niche for playing strong, courageous mothers – starting with Pippin, Dear Evan Hansen and now in God Friended Me, premiering on September 30. Do you form your onstage relationships based on your own with your daughter, Miranda?
Rachel Bay Jones: Well, part of this is the issue of the entertainment industry, unfortunately, mostly wanting to see middle-aged women as mothers, so I pick from the parts that come my way. But I do make a conscious choice to work on projects and roles that offer some hope or redemption or are just plain excellent. We all need strong, courageous role models now, and if I can be a part of providing that for people, I want it. As an artist, I do use my experience and lessons I’ve learned in life, and a huge part of that, of course, is as a mother to Miranda. But honestly, she’s pretty easy to parent. She’s amazing.
BWW Detroit: How old is Miranda now and has she started driver’s ed?
Rachel Bay Jones: She’s 15 and is aching to drive but hasn’t had driver’s ed yet. I think she has to wait until she’s 16 here in New York. I could wait for her to drive, however.
BWW Detroit: What can Detroit audiences look forward to about Something Beautiful,your one-woman cabaret show that you will be bringing to “The Cube” at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center on September 22 for two shows?
Rachel Bay Jones: It’s a little bit about my crazy journey from being a child of crazy actor parents to winning a Tony Award in middle age, some good theatre stories and, mostly, some great-great songs. I perform with Randy Redd, my musical director, favorite male singer, and a long-time friend and collaborator.
BWW Detroit: Will this be the first time that you’re in Detroit?
Rachel Bay Jones: I love, love, love Detroit and always have. I’ve come through on National tours, with shows, to visit friends and family, and I am crazy about the people and the history and the culture.
BWW Detroit: Your fellow Dear Evan Hansen castmate and mom, Jennifer Laura Thompson, grew up in Birmingham, Michigan (#momsofevanhansen) and attended the University of Michigan (UM). And Dear Evan Hansen composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are also grads of the University of Michigan School of Musical Theatre and Dance (@umichsmtd). As part of Cabaret 313’s non-profit mission to foster theatre education to students, you’re going to be teaching a master class at UM. Did you know that Pasek & Paul are also coming to UM in a few weeks for a Q&A and booksigning? What was it like working with them?
Rachel Bay Jones: I love my boys so much. This is the second show I have done with them, the first being the pre-Broadway tour of A Christmas Story-which came to Detroit-and where I fell in love with their smarts and talent and humor and hearts. I haven’t seen the Dear Evan Hansen book yet, but I can’t wait to read.
Adopted from: broadwayworld