Age, Biography, and Wiki
Patti LuPone was born in Northport, New York, to Adeline and Orlando LuPone. She began her professional career in the early 1970s, initially performing in Off-Broadway productions before transitioning to Broadway. Her biography is marked by notable performances in musicals such as "Evita," "Les Misérables," and "Gypsy," earning her multiple Tony and Olivier Awards.
| Occupation | Actress |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 21 April 1949 |
| Age | 76 Years |
| Birth Place | Northport, New York, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: Patti LuPone stands at approximately 5 feet 8 inches (172.7 cm).
- Weight: Her weight is not publicly disclosed.
- Measurements: Specific body measurements are not widely available.
In 2017, LuPone originated the role of Helena Rubinstein in the musical War Paint on Broadway, after performing the role in the summer of 2016 in the musical's world premiere at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Performing opposite Christine Ebersole as Rubinstein's longtime competitor Elizabeth Arden, LuPone stayed with the role for War Paint 's entire run at the Nederlander Theatre, from March 7 to November 5, 2017. The show closed prematurely to allow LuPone to undergo hip surgery. LuPone disclosed in an interview that War Paint would be her last musical on stage: "I'm too old. It's been hard—it's been harder than it's ever been. I can't do it anymore." Nevertheless, in September 2017 it was announced that LuPone would star as Joanne in the 2018 London revival of Company alongside Rosalie Craig as Bobbie in a gender-swapped production directed by Marianne Elliot. For her performance she received her second Laurence Olivier Award, this time for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In August 2019, it was announced that the production would move to Broadway, with LuPone returning as Joanne and Katrina Lenk as Bobbie.
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Patti LuPone has been married to Matthew Johnston since 1988. The couple does not have any children together.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and was Emmy Award-nominated for The Song Spinner (1995) and Frasier (1998). She appeared in three Ryan Murphy series: American Horror Story (2013–2014, 2022), Pose (2019), and Hollywood (2020). She also acted in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2017), and Agatha All Along (2024). LuPone's film roles include 1941 (1979), Witness (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Summer of Sam (1999), State and Main (2000), and Beau Is Afraid (2023).
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, after 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.
In 1976, theater producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
In November 1995, LuPone starred in her one-woman show, Patti LuPone on Broadway, at the Walter Kerr Theatre. For her work, she received an Outer Critics Circle Award. The following year, she was selected by producer Robert Whitehead to succeed his wife, Zoe Caldwell in the Broadway production of Terrence McNally's play Master Class, based on the master classes given by operatic diva Maria Callas at Juilliard. LuPone received positive reviews, with Vincent Canby writing "Ms. LuPone really is vulnerable here in a way that wasn't anticipated: she's in the process of creating a role for which she isn't ideally suited, but she's working like a trouper to get it right." She appeared in the play in the West End.
LuPone's television work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee.
In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. She voiced the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond, reprising the role in the movie and the epilogue series Steven Universe Future.
In 2023 she played Beau's mother, Mona, in the Ari Aster surrealist horror film Beau Is Afraid. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Richard Kind, and Amy Ryan. LuPone received critical acclaim for her performance with David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter writing "[the film] features fabulous performances...most of all, LuPone in all her magnificent, scenery-chomping glory." Anthony Lane of The New Yorker also praised LuPone performance, comparing her role of an imperious mother to that of Angela Lansbury's in The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
| Parents | |
| Husband | Matthew Johnston (m. December 12, 1988) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Patti LuPone's net worth is estimated to be around $8 million to $10 million, depending on the source. Her wealth is primarily derived from her successful acting and singing career in Broadway and television, as well as her real estate investments.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Broadway Career: LuPone's Broadway career is highlighted by her performances in "Evita," "Les Misérables," "Gypsy," and "Company." She won Tony Awards for her roles in "Evita" and the revival of "Gypsy."
- Television and Film: She has appeared in TV series like "Life Goes On," "Pose," and "Penny Dreadful," and films such as "Summer of Sam," "Driving Miss Daisy," and "State and Main."
- Real Estate: LuPone has invested in real estate, owning properties in Edisto Island, South Carolina, and Kent, Connecticut, which she sold in 2020 for significant profits.
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) 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 has 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.
She made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She went on to receive three Tony Awards: two for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles as Eva Perón in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita (1980), and Rose in Gypsy (2008) and one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Joanne in the Stephen Sondheim revival Company (2022). She was Tony-nominated for The Robber Bridegroom (1975), Anything Goes (1988), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2006), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010), and War Paint (2017).
For her performances on the West End stage she received two Laurence Olivier Awards: one for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock in 1985, and the second for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Company in 2019. She was nominated for her role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in 1993. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. According to LuPone, her rigorous Juilliard training has instilled in her "a respect for the craft of acting and the stage", but maintains that it did little to prepare her for the realties of pursuing a career on Broadway. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is known for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar's Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I'll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love's Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012, in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In August 2010, LuPone appeared in a three-day run of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun where she played the title role opposite Patrick Cassidy at the Ravinia Festival, directed by Lonny Price. That same year, LuPone created the role of Lucia in the original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which opened at the Belasco Theater on November 4, 2010, and closed on January 2, 2011, after 23 preview and 69 regular performances. LuPone was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance. LuPone's memoir recounting her life and career from childhood onwards, was published in September 2010 titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir. It was a New York Times Best Seller.
In 2011, LuPone played the role of Joanne in a four-night limited engagement concert production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company at the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Paul Gemignani. The production starred Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby. Harris had previously worked with LuPone in the 2000 and 2001 concert productions of Sweeney Todd. The cast of Company performed the song "Side by Side by Side" at the 65th Tony Awards on June 12, 2011. LuPone made her New York City Ballet debut in May 2011 in a production of The Seven Deadly Sins directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. A piece she had previously performed, LuPone sang the role of Anna in the Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht score. LuPone concluded a 63-performance Broadway engagement of her concert with former Evita co-star Mandy Patinkin entitled An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. The run started on November 21, 2011, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater and ended on January 13, 2012. In late 2012, LuPone appeared with Debra Winger in the premiere of David Mamet's play The Anarchist.
A transfer of the successful West End production of Company was set to open at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on March 22, 2020, coinciding with Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production returned, featuring LuPone starring opposite Katrina Lenk, with previews starting on November 15, 2021, before officially opening December 9, 2021. LuPone won her third Tony Award for the role. On May 10, 2022, during a live conversation with the American Theatre Wing and her Company co-stars, Patti LuPone publicly addressed a patron who was not wearing their face mask properly, a violation of Broadway League COVID-19 safety protocols. LuPone later explained that the patron had already been warned by theater staff and had responded dismissively. Her passionate response highlighted the importance of adhering to safety guidelines to ensure the continued operation of Broadway. This incident led to increased attention on safety protocols and a subsequent extension of the mask mandate by the Broadway League, from May 31 to June 30, 2022.
In 2023, LuPone revealed that she would play the role of Lilia Calderu, a centuries-old witch with divination powers, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Agatha All Along. Calderu is a Romani character in the comics. The series received mostly positive reviews from critics, with LuPone's performance in her character's central episode, "Death's Hand in Mine", being particularly praised. Following the closing of Company, LuPone resigned from Actors' Equity Association, the union for professional stage managers and actors in the United States. It was announced that LuPone would return to Broadway in the Jen Silverman play The Roommate starring opposite Mia Farrow at the Booth Theatre in August 2024.
Music and theatre critics have described LuPone as a mezzo-soprano, which The Seattle Times said can equally "blast a big showtune out of the park, or sweetly murmur a lullaby". Vocally, she is known for her powerful, emotive style of belting, and according to Nerelle Harper of QNews set a new standard "for a modern generation of high-belt thrill trillers". To cope with some vocally demanding roles such as Evita, during which she lost her voice several times, she remained silent when not performing and limited social activities. After undergoing surgery to treat vocal nodules during the 1990s, she learned how to sing in a more operatic manner to preserve her voice, prior to which she admitted to relying on "sheer guts and willpower" to belt. She credits vocal coach Joan Lader with saving her career and teaching her "a technique to allow me to continue to sing with the strength and the clarity". LuPone has performed some operatic roles, despite having no formal operatic training. She has performed in several Sondheim musicals, and credits the composer with making her a better singer due to the difficulty of his material. In return, Sondheim has praised her singing, acting, and attention to detail, and thanked her for "enhancing my shows — and everyone else's for that matter". According to Andrew Gans of Playbill, LuPone belongs to a handful of singing actors who "are masters of stillness, bringing songs to full life with an inner well of emotions that seep out in unexpected and heartbreaking moments". However, her trademark diction has been criticized for sounding unclear, including by collaborators Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Houseman, the latter of whom reportedly strangled her over her enunciation. LuPone admitted that her emotional acting choices can compromise her diction. In addition to Sondheim, LuPone has identified performers Edith Piaf, Bette Davis, and David Mamet as influences, and expressed admiration for stage actresses Angela Lansbury, Zoe Caldwell, and Elaine Stritch, all of whose signature roles she would eventually play herself.
The media has described LuPone as a polarizing entertainer, equally praised and criticized for her talent and unfiltered opinions. McNulty observed that critics have alternated between pigeonholing her into specific genres or underappreciating her vibrancy. She has been labeled a diva for much of her career, which journalists attribute to both her talent and high standards, and perceived demanding temperament on and off-stage. Ruhlmann said her reported "cold, dark" persona allowed her to excel playing "the kinds of anti-heroines who peopled the musicals of the later decades of the 20th century". LuPone has been described by some as difficult to work with, a reputation she attributes to sexism and the way assertive women are often perceived in the industry. Theatre critic Ben Brantley reported that the fallout from Sunset Boulevard damaged LuPone's public image and relegated her Broadway appearances to one-woman and non-musical shows, until she returned to musical theater in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, her Evita co-star Mandy Patinkin defended her as a sensitive performer who "can't let certain feelings go, which is a burden and a blessing. She fights through it all and gives everything, until there's nothing left in her". Her fanbase has been nicknamed "LuPonistas", and she has often been hired to play exaggerated versions of herself in television and film, representing "the symbol of Broadway musical theater", according to Time Out 's Adam Feldman.
Social Network
Patti LuPone is active on social media platforms, particularly Twitter, where she engages with her fans and shares updates about her projects.
In 1979, LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. She reportedly won the role over 200 auditionees, including Meryl Streep, Ann-Margret and Raquel Welch. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated "Evita was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina", a song she performed for the show, became one of her signature songs throughout her career. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
In 1983, LuPone starred as Rosalind opposite Val Kilmer in As You Like It at the Guthrie Theatre, directed by Liviu Ciulei. In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. The production premiered at The Acting Company's summer residence at Chautauqua Institution, toured the United States including an engagement at the Highland Park, Illinois' Ravinia Festival in 1984 and played in London's West End. When the run ended, LuPone remained in London to create the role of Fantine in Cameron Mackintosh's original London production of Les Misérables, in 1985, which premiered at the Barbican Theatre, at that time the London home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. LuPone had previously worked for Mackintosh in a short-lived Broadway revival of Oliver! in 1984, playing Nancy opposite Ron Moody as Fagin. For her work in both The Cradle Will Rock and Les Misérables, LuPone received the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She returned to Broadway in 1987 to star as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes. She starred opposite Howard McGillin, and they both received Tony nominations for their performances. The Lincoln Center cast reassembled for a one-night-only concert performance of Anything Goes in New York in 2002. Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Steven Universe: The Movie, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square, Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, State and Main, and Heist. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).
In 2019, LuPone played an antagonistic role in Pose, appearing in second season of the series. In 2020, LuPone starred in the Ryan Murphy series Hollywood for Netflix. The following year she teamed up with social media star Randy Rainbow to perform a duet song criticizing Donald Trump three weeks before the 2020 US election.
LuPone is widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway performers of her generation, and one of the most influential actors in musical theater. The London Times once nicknamed her the "first lady of the theater", and American-British journalist Hadley Freeman declared her "the queen of Broadway" and "the goddess of the modern musical". In 2010, theatre critic Charles McNulty wrote that her stage presence demonstrates a ferocity that, when paired with the right material, resembles "a return to a golden age when powerhouses ruled Broadway". AllMusic biographer William Ruhlmann noted that, unlike her predecessors Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, LuPone was never afforded the luxury to seamlessly transition between musical productions, instead using lulls in her Broadway career to diversify her endeavors by appearing in plays, films, television, nightclubs, concert tours, and recording solo studio albums. According to Susan Vaughn of the Los Angeles Times, LuPone is mostly known for playing "larger-than-life characters" on stage, whereas Adam Sandel of The Advocate observed "she's often played women who've fought like hell to overcome obstacles through the sheer force of indomitable will". She has also played many Jewish women, both on stage and screen, despite not being Jewish herself. LuPone believes she is often cast in ethnic parts because of her Italian heritage and prominent facial features, which allow her to play more interesting female roles. At the same time, she has expressed frustration at frequently being overlooked for roles she believes she is best suited for, often in favor of less qualified actors, and insists she has been bullied by Broadway professionals for much of her career.
LuPone is known for her candid and outspoken nature, a trait she attributes to her upbringing. She has stated that her forthrightness has occasionally led to professional setbacks, beginning with her time promoting Evita. Her unfiltered remarks and actions have often made headlines, including instances of going off-script during performances. A vocal critic of the commercialization of Broadway, LuPone has likened its current state to Las Vegas, arguing that shows should have limited runs to allow space for fresh, innovative productions. She has also expressed a disdain for red carpet events, noting that her tendency to "speak [her] truth" can be at odds with the expected decorum of such occasions. Additionally, LuPone has been outspoken about theater etiquette, frequently voicing concerns over disruptive behavior by some audience members. She is widely regarded as a gay icon, which LuPone attributes to fans recognizing that she has "had to fight, like the LGBTQ community has had to fight for identity. For a simple way to live. For acceptance".
Education
LuPone attended Northport High School and later studied at the Juilliard School in New York City, graduating in 1972. Her education at Juilliard laid the foundation for her professional career in the performing arts.
With a career as vibrant as Patti LuPone's, her net worth reflects not only her financial success but also her enduring legacy in the world of musical theater and beyond.
