Kelli Christine O'Hara (born April 16, 1976) is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages. She has received a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for three Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. She was honored with the Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre in 2019.
O'Hara portrayed Anna Leonowens in the revival of The King and I for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2015. She reprised her role in the West End for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2019. She was Tony-nominated for her performances in The Light in the Piazza (2005), The Pajama Game (2006), South Pacific (2008), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), The Bridges of Madison County (2014), Kiss Me, Kate (2019), Days of Wine and Roses (2024), and Fallen Angels (2026).
O'Hara made her debut at The Metropolitan Opera in a 2014 production of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow. In 2018, she played the role of Despina in the Met Opera's production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. In 2022, she returned to the Met, starring as Laura Brown in Kevin Puts' The Hours, a role she and co-stars Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato reprised for eight performances in May 2024.
She has also played roles in television series, such as Masters of Sex, 13 Reasons Why, and The Gilded Age, receiving a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her starring role in the 2017 web drama series The Accidental Wolf at the 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2018.
