Samantha Pauly

Samantha Megan Pauly (born 1989) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Katherine Howard in the musical Six at the Lena Horne Theatre on Broadway, as well as for starring as Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby at The Broadway Theatre. She was also hand-picked by Jamie Lloyd and Andrew Lloyd Webber to portray Eva Perón in the 2019 revival of Evita at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre .

Early life and education Pauly was born in Bettendorf, Iowa. In high school, she appeared in productions of The Pajama Game as Gladys and Chicago as Velma Kelly. The production of Chicago was later selected to perform at the International Thespian Festival in June 2008. She later trained at Viterbo University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Theatre and Dance in 2012. Pauly played numerous roles while training, including Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Joanne in Company, and Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years.

Career In 2010, Pauly appeared in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Summerstage theatre production of Rent at Toland Theatre, playing the role of Mimi. Her first production after graduating from Viterbo University in 2012 was playing the lead role of Elle Woods in the musical Legally Blonde at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse. In 2014, she portrayed The Mistress in Evita at the Jedlicka Theatre.

In 2015, Pauly played the role of Teen Cee Cee in Beaches alongside Presley Ryan and Shoshana Bean, who played the child and adult versions of the role respectively. In January 2016, she played Amber in a regional production of Hairspray at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois. The tour opened at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto on October 16, 2018, and was originally intended to run until July 7, 2019, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. However, days after the tour was extended, it was abruptly postponed and eventually canceled, with the cast playing their final show at the scheduled conclusion of the Toronto run on November 3, 2018.

In February 2019, Pauly received callbacks for both Six and Evita and ended up being cast in both shows. She made her debut as Katherine Howard in Six on May 14, 2019 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She temporarily left the show on June 23, 2019, to star as Eva Perón in Evita at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from August 2 until September 21, 2019. Pauly returned to Six in the Citadel Theatre production on November 1, 2019, and played the role for the rest of the North American tour. She continued playing the role when the show transferred to the Lena Horne Theatre on Broadway, where it began previews on February 13, 2020. The show was prepared to open on March 12, 2020, when all Broadway theatres were required to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pauly returned to Six on September 17, 2021, when the show officially reopened. A live cast recording of the musical featuring Pauly's vocals was released on May 6, 2022. The album was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023. In June 2022, she, along with the other principal cast members of Six, received the Ensemble Award at the 2022 Drama Desk Awards. She departed the production on December 4, 2022.

In 2021, Pauly appeared as an ensemble member in the online benefit concert of Ratatouille the Musical. Later that year, she was featured on the concept album for Little Black Book, a musical inspired by the life of Heidi Fleiss. She also portrayed Ophelia in a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet in August 2021. On February 4, 2022, Pauly appeared in a concert version of the musical A Girl I Know at Feinstein's/54 Below.

Through 22-27 August 2023, Pauly played Mimi Marquez in Rent at the UC Davis Health Pavilion Theater at Music Circus on Broadway. In September 2023, Pauly was announced to be playing the role of Jordan Baker in a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby from October 12 to November 12, 2023. She reprised her role in the original cast of the Broadway production at the Broadway Theatre when it opened on April 25, 2024.

Personal life

Pauly got married in 2014. She participated in a Playbill Pride event in 2024 and stated "This will be my first year being a part of Pride in Times Square, and as a queer woman who is still discovering things about herself, I feel very honored to be included."

She adopted a retired racing greyhound named Dale while living in Chicago. He passed away on December 9, 2024. She also has two short haired chihuahuas named Scampi, whom she adopted in late 2022, and Slinky, whom she adopted in 2026. Pauly states that if she wasn't working in theatre, she would want to work for a dog rescue.

Theatre credits Year Title Role Theatre Director(s) 2010 Rent Mimi Marquez Toland Theatre 2014 Godspell Samantha Marriott Theatre 2014 Cinderella...After the Ball Sleeping Beauty Marriott Theatre 2015 Beaches Teen Cee Cee Drury Lane Theatre 2015 Seussical Bird Girl Marriott Theatre 2015 Elf Shawanda/Charlotte Dennon Marriott Theatre 2016 Hairspray Amber von Tussle Paramount Theatre 2016 Evita Eva Perón Marriott Theatre 2017 Madagascar: A Musical Adventure Maurice Marriott Theatre 2017 Honeymoon in Vegas Betsy Nolan Marriott Theatre 2017–2018 Elf Jovie Paramount Theatre 2018 Evita Eva Perón Westport Country Playhouse 2018 Bat Out of Hell: The Musical Valkyrie Ed Mirvish Theatre 2019 Seussical Bird Girl/Mrs. Mayor Marriott Theatre 2019 Six Katherine Howard North American tour Evita Eva Perón Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 2020–2022 Six Katherine Howard Lena Horne Theatre 2023 The Great Gatsby Jordan Baker Paper Mill Playhouse 2024–2026 Broadway Theatre

Filmography Television YearTitleRoleNotes 2016 Chicago P.D. May Episode: "Big Friends, Big Enemies"

Awards and nominations