When she moved to New York City, she got a job selling cosmetics in a department store. Her boss let her take extended lunches to go to auditions.
After less than two years in New York, she made her Broadway debut.
Smart, sophisticated-looking blonde American musical leading lady, a
three-time Tony nominee best known for her work in "Will Rogers'
Follies" and "City of Angels".
Has been nominated three times for the Best Actress (Musical) Tony
Award: in 1991 for "The Will Rogers Follies," in 1994 for "The Best
Little Whorehouse Goes Public," and in 1999 for "Footloose."
She graduated from Otterbein College in Ohio.
She became interested in musical theater as a student at Lakewood High School. She was a member of the Cleveland Play House repertory company from 1974 to 1977.