Marisha Wallace

Marisha Wallace
Born	(1985-09-29) September 29, 1985 (age 39) United States
Citizenship	United States United Kingdom (from 2025)
Occupations	Actress singer
Years active	2014–present

Marisha Wallace (born September 29, 1985) is an American-born British actress and singer, best known for her work in musical theatre.

Life and career

Wallace grew up on a hog farm in Goldsboro, North Carolina. ^[1]

Wallace appeared in the original Broadway casts of Aladdin (2014) and Something Rotten! (2015) as a member of the ensemble and understudy. ^[2] In January 2017 she became an alternate Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls . ^[3] Following the departure of Amber Riley from the production, Wallace took over the role, sharing with Karen Mav and Moya Angela.^{[ citation needed ]} In 2017, she released a Christmas album called Soul Holiday. ^[4]

In 2019, she joined the original London cast of Waitress as Becky. ^[5] In Summer 2021 she starred in the London Coliseum production of Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle opposite Michael Ball. ^[6] For this role she was nominated for the 2021 Black British Theatre Awards as Best Female Actress in a Musical. ^[7]

In 2022, she played Ado Annie in Oklahoma! at the Young Vic,^{[ citation needed ]} a performance for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical. ^[8]

Wallace is the singing voice of Ms Johnston in Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey on Netflix.

In March 2023, she began playing Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre for which she was nominated for her second Olivier Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She left the production in February 2024. ^[9]

In March 2024, Wallace entered the Celebrity Big Brother house to compete in the twenty-third series. ^[10] She was the fifth housemate evicted, leaving on Day 16 in a double eviction. ^[11]

In August 2024, she appeared in a concert staging of Something Rotten! at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. ^[12]

In September 2024, she made a special guest appearance during concerts by Alex Newell at Cadogan Hall. ^[13] In December 2024, she made her debut in pantomime as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood at the London Palladium.

Between January and May 2025, she starred in Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre as Sally Bowles, alongside Billy Porter as The Emcee. From July to October 2025, she’s set to reprise her role opposite Porter in the final cast of the Broadway revival of Cabaret at the August Wilson Theatre. ^[14]

On 11 March 2025, she played a solo concert at the Adelphi Theatre in London. ^[15] A recording of this concert was eventually released as the album Live in London which released on 15 August 2025. ^[16]

On 24 April 2025, she received her British citizenship. ^[17]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Rent	Maureen Johnson	Palace Theatre
2011		Joanne Jefferson	Broadway Palm Theatre
2012	The Book of Mormon	Ensemble	US Tour
2014-2015	Aladdin	Ensemble u/s Babkak	New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway
2015	Something Rotten!	Ensemble u/s Bea	St. James Theatre, Broadway
2016	Dreamgirls	Effie White	Savoy Theatre, West End
2019	Waitress	Becky	Adelphi Theatre, West End
2021	Hairspray	Motormouth Maybelle	London Coliseum, West End
2022	Oklahoma!	Ado Annie	Young Vic Theatre, London
2023-2024	Guys and Dolls	Miss Adelaide	Bridge Theatre, London
2024	Something Rotten!	Bea	Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End
	Robin Hood	Sheriff of Nottingham	London Palladium, West End
2025	Cabaret	Sally Bowles	Playhouse Theatre, West End
			August Wilson Theatre, Broadway

Filmography

As herself

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2021	Feel Good	Marsha; season 2 (2 episodes)
2024	Celebrity Big Brother	Housemate; series 23	[18]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		UK [19]
Soul Holiday	Released: October 26, 2017 Labels: Self-released Format: Digital download	—
TOMORROW	Released: November 27, 2020 Labels: Decca Format: Digital download, streaming	69
Live in London	Released: August 15, 2025 Labels: Westway Music Format: Digital download, streaming, CD	—

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Fight Like a Woman (Slay)"	2019	Non-album singles
"The Beginning"	2020
"Tomorrow"		Tomorrow
"Maybe This Time (Live Edit)"	2025	'Live in London'
"And I Am Telling You (Live)"
“Cabaret (Live)"

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2020	Waitress	WhatsOnStage Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Musical	Nominated	[20]
2023	Oklahoma!	Olivier Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical	Nominated	[21]
		WhatsOnStage Award	Best Supporting Performer in a Musical	Nominated	[22]
2024	Guys and Dolls	WhatsOnStage Award	Best Performer in a Musical	Nominated	[23]
		Olivier Awards	Best Actress in a Musical	Nominated	[24]

References

1. "In London, She Became Musical Theater Royalty. Now She's Back on Broadway". 2025-08-26. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
2. "Marisha Wallace". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
3. "With Amber Riley Out Sick, Casey Nicholaw Favorite Marisha Wallace Takes Center Stage in West End's Dreamgirls". Broadway.com . Retrieved 2019-03-04.
4. Gans, Andrew (2017-11-30). "London's New Effie Releases Solo Recording Soul Holiday". Playbill . Retrieved 2019-03-04.
5. Gans, Andrew (2018-12-04). "David Hunter and Marisha Wallace Will Join Katharine McPhee in London's Waitress". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
6. "Marisha Wallace and Lizzie Bea to join London cast of Hairspray | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
7. "Black British Theatre Awards unveils 2021 nominees". 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
8. "Olivier Awards 2023". OfficialLondonTheatre.com. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
9. "Olivier Awards 2024 with Mastercard nominations announced". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
10. "Celebrity Big Brother 2024 cast: Confirmed line-up".
11. "Marisha Wallace and Zeze Millz evicted from Celebrity Big Brother". www.expressandstar.com. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
12. "Something Rotten - in Concert Tickets | Theatre Royal Drury Lane".
13. Wild, Stephi (2024-08-28). "Marisha Wallace Will Join Alex Newell Live at Cadogan Hall". Broadway World. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
14. Rook, Olivia (2024-12-02). "Billy Porter and Marisha Wallace to star in 'Cabaret' in the West End". London Theatre. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
15. Wood, Alex (2024-05-20). "Marisha Wallace to perform largest ever solo concert". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
16. Wood, Alex (2025-06-17). "Marisha Wallace announces new album". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
17. "Marisha Wallace says King told her he was 'proud' of her British citizenship". The Independent. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
18. "Who is Marisha Wallace? Celebrity Big Brother 2024 contestant". Radio Times . Retrieved 5 March 2024.
19. "Marisha Wallace | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 12 December 2020.
20. "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards: Everything you need to know". 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
21. Stage, Guardian (2023-02-28). "Olivier awards 2023: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-01-30.
22. "Nominations in full: the 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
23. "Nominations in full: 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
24. "OIivier Awards 2024 with Mastercard nominees announced!". 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-03-14.

External links

• Marisha Wallace at IMDb