Annaleigh Ashford

Annaleigh Ashford

Tony Award Winner, Emmy and Grammy Nominated

Annaleigh Ashford

Tony Award Winner, Emmy and Grammy Nominated

Tony Award-winning and Emmy and Grammy Award-nominated actor Annaleigh Ashford has spent her career collaborating with acclaimed directors and costars across stage, film, and television.

Ashford will next star as the lead in Paramount+ Original Series gripping true crime drama HAPPY FACE, which will release weekly starting March 20. The series is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa G. Moore, played by Ashford; the critically acclaimed “Happy Face” podcast from iHeartPodcasts and Moore; and the autobiography Shattered Silence, written by Moore with M. Bridget Cook. At 15, Moore discovered that her beloved father was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face. As an adult, she has changed her name and guarded her secret while her father has been serving life in prison. HAPPY FACE features a star-studded cast, including Dennis Quaid and series regulars James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne and Benjamin Mackey. Jumping off from Moore’s true-life story, the series follows Melissa (Ashford) and her incarcerated father, known as the Happy Face Killer (Quaid). After decades of no contact, he finally finds a way to force himself back into his daughter’s life. In a race against the clock, Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. Throughout, she discovers the impact her father had on his victims’ families and must face a reckoning of her own identity. HAPPY FACE is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. Jennifer Cacicio (YOUR HONOR, SHOOTER) serves as showrunner for the series and executive producer alongside Robert and Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa G. Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Michael Showalter and Jordana Mollick. Michael Showalter (THE DROPOUT, THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE) also directed the first episode.

Ashford was most recently seen on Broadway in ALL IN: COMEDY ABOUT LOVE, based on New Yorker essays by Simon Rich, starring opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Cross, Tim Meadows and Hank Azaria. Tony winner Alex Timbers directs and Lorne Michaels produces.

In 2024, Ashford earned her third Tony nomination for her performance as Mrs. Lovett opposite Josh Groban in the Tony-nominated revival of Stephen Sondheim’s SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET produced by Jeffrey Seller and directed by Thomas Kail. She received a Tony Award nomination for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical” and a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Musical Theater Album,” won the Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical” and won the Drama League Award for “The Distinguished Performance Award” for her role. Ashford is one of very few actresses, among them Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, and Angela Lansbury, who have performed in more than one of Sondheim's Broadway shows.

In 2022, Ashford starred opposite Kumail Nanjiani in the Hulu limited series WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES from creator Robert Siegel. CHIPPENDALES told the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the entrepreneur who started the famous male revue show, Chippendales. Ashford played the series regular role of Irene, an accountant by trade and wife of founder Banerjee, falling in love over a shared passion for tax loopholes and revenue expansion. Her performance garnered Ashford her first Emmy nomination.

Ashford received rave reviews for her portrayal of Paula Jones in Ryan Murphy's IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY in 2021, which unraveled the national crisis that swept up Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp as principal characters in the country’s first impeachment proceedings in over a century. The Los Angeles Times raved "her performance is inflected with humor as well as

compassion" and Entertainment Weekly proclaimed, "Ashford shines through an elite ensemble."

Ashford starred in two seasons of the hit CBS comedy B POSITIVE. Created by Marco Pennette and Chuck Lorre, the series starred legendary actors such as Linda Lavin, Hector Elizondo and Ben Vereen.

 



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