Rachel Bay Jones

**Rachel Bay Jones** (born November 8, 1969) is an American actress and singer, who portrays Salen Morrison on *The Good Doctor*. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of *Pippin* and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in *Dear Evan Hansen*. The latter earned her the 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

## Early life

Jones was born in New York City and grew up in Boca Raton, Florida. Her parents were both Shakespearean actors. She dropped out of high school to perform in a local play, then moved to New York City to pursue acting at 19.

## Career

Jones's first Broadway role was as an understudy for the lead role of Esther in *Meet Me in St. Louis* in 1989.

In the early 1990s, she was in the touring company of *Grand Hotel*, as well as other national and international tours, performing *Rent* in German and *Evita* in Spanish. She performed in the 2009 Broadway revival of *Hair* as the replacement for Mother, Buddahdalirama, and Member Of The Tribe. She was one of the original cast members starring in the revival of *Pippin*, playing Catherine, Pippin's lover, during the entire run.

Jones portrayed Evan's mother Heidi in the musical *Dear Evan Hansen*, which premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015. She reprised the role in the Off-Broadway production at the Second Stage Theatre in May 2016, and then on Broadway starting in November 2016. At the 71st Tony Awards, she won for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Heidi Hansen.

After leaving *Dear Evan Hansen* on August 5, 2018, Jones performed at several small venues in *Something Beautiful*, a one-woman cabaret show that draws music from her expansive career and bringing meaning from her life into the lyrics.

She appears in the television comedy *God Friended Me* which premiered in 2018. She plays the role of Susan. She has also had guest roles on *Modern Family* and *Grey's Anatomy*.

She appeared in the concert of *Sweet Charity* at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center on June 17, 2019, presented by the Transport Group.

From January 29 to February 3, 2020 she starred as Diana in *Next to Normal* at the Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage series.

## Personal life

She has a daughter, Miranda, and is partner to actor Benim Foster. Jones has a brother named Darren.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Hollywood Reporter. May 26, 2017
2. ↑ *Meet Me in St. Louis* playbill (vault). March 29, 2019
3. ↑ *Hair* playbill (vault), accessed March 29, 2019
4. ↑ Champion, Lindsay. "Rachel Bay Jones on Being Scared of Clowns, Her 'Terrifying' Evita Story & Joining the Pippin Circus" broadway.com, June 13, 2013
5. ↑ Blank, Matthew. "CUE & A: Pippin Star Rachel Bay Jones" playbill, April 9, 2013
6. ↑ Playbill. July 30, 2015
7. ↑ Go on Sale Today for Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen - Playbill Playbill. June 19, 2016
8. ↑ Playbill. December 4, 2016
9. ↑ Broadway. November 29, 2018
10. ↑ "Rachel Bay Jones: Something Beautiful" theatermania.com, accessed March 29, 2019
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Rachel Bay Jones Brings 'Something Beautiful' to Feinsteins at the Nikko" broadwayworld.com, July 19, 2018
12. ↑ Fierberg, Ruthie. " Dear Evan Hansen's Rachel Bay Jones Lands CBS Comedy Pilot" Playbill, March 26, 2018
13. ↑ "Listings 'God Friended Me', Air Date March 31, 2019" thefutoncritic.com
14. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Rachel Bay Jones, Santino Fontana, More Set for 'Sweet Charity in Concert'" Playbill, May 17, 2019
15. ↑ McPhee, Ryan. "Rachel Bay Jones to Star in 'Next to Normal' at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center; New Season Also Includes 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Tour Premiere" playbill, March 28, 2019
16. ↑ Kennedy Center. 2020-04-23