Vanessa Sears

Vanessa Sears is a Canadian actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Canadian premiere production of Kinky Boots, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. In 2022, Sears originated the role of Anaia in the Canadian premiere production of Is God Is, for which she was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. Sears is currently starring as Juliet in the Canadian production of & Juliet, which is playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. She is of Guyanese and Jamaican heritage, since her father was born in Guyana and her mother was born in Jamaica. She has two brothers and one sister.

Growing up, Sears performed in community theatre productions of Beauty and the Beast and My Fair Lady.

Although she considered pursuing studies to become a veterinarian, Sears decided to pursue musical theatre and graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance program at Sheridan College. As of 2023, Sears started studying to also become a musical theatre director. The musical began an open-ended run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on June 16, 2015, before closing on May 15, 2016.

In 2016, Sears starred as Dorothy in a production of The Wizard of Oz by Young People's Theatre in Toronto, for which she won a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Musical.

In 2017, Sears played Edwina in a production of Passing Strange, produced by the Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre. For her performance, Sears won the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

Sears made her Shaw Festival debut in 2017. After appearing in the ensemble of two productions, Sears appeared as Zoe in the Canadian premiere of An Octoroon, which played between July 16 and October 14, 2017.

In 2018, Sears starred as Mary Poppins in the Young People's Theatre production of Mary Poppins, which opened on November 8, 2018, and closed on January 6, 2019. At the 2019 Dora Awards, Sears was nominated in the Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role category for her performance as Mary Poppins.

During the 2019 Stratford Festival season, Sears appeared as Ronnette in their production of Little Shop of Horrors and as Dead Mum in Billy Elliot the Musical.

In 2020, Sears played Emmie Thibodeaux in a production of Caroline, or Change by the Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre. The musical, which starred Jully Black and Measha Brueggergosman, played at the Winter Garden Theatre between January 30 and February 15, 2020.

Sears starred as Anaia in the Canadian premiere of the play Is God Is, which was presented by the Canadian Stage Company between May 6–22, 2022. She was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. Later that year, she played Regan in the world premiere production of Queen Goneril by the Soulpepper Theatre Company, for which she won the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role. Sears also played Red Queen / Ruby in a regional production of Alice in Wonderland, which earned her a Dora Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role.

In 2023, Sears made her Broadway debut in New York, New York. She was a standby for the lead role of Francine Evans in the musical, which played at the St. James Theatre between March 24, 2023, and July 30, 2023.

In 2024, Sears returned to Stratford Festival where she will star as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet. Following this, Sears starred as the Witch in a pantomime production of The Wizard of Oz, presented by Ross Petty Productions and the Canadian Stage Company. It played at the Winter Garden Theatre between December 6, 2024, and January 5, 2025.

Sears is currently starring as Juliet in the original Canadian production of & Juliet. The musical began performances at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on December 3, 2025.

Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 2016 Suits Young Jessica S6.E10: "P.S.L." 2017The Beaverton Various characters S1.E7; S1.E10 2020 Too Close for Christmas Amy Parker-Barnett TV movie 2021 TallBoyz Various characters 4 episodes Sex/Life Kyla S1.E7: "Small Town Saturday Night" Odd Squad Reporter #5 S3.E21: "Odd Off the Press" Y: The Last Man Steph S1.E5: "Mann Hunt" Royally Wrapped for Christmas Monica TV movie 2022 14 Love Letters Kallie TV movie My Little Pony: Make Your Mark Additional voices Voice role, S2.E1: "Izzy Does It" Sappy Holiday Joy Johnson TV movie 2024 My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale Sunny's Mom Voice role, S2.E11: "Written In The Starscouts"

Film Year Title Role Notes 2021 Romance in the Wilds Abi Christmas in the Wilds

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2015 BroadwayWorld Award Best Featured Female in a Musical Kinky Boots 2016 Dora Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble The Wizard of Oz Outstanding Performance by an Individual in a Musical The Wizard of Oz: The Toto-ly Awesome Family Musical