Sutton Foster is an American actress, singer, and dancer born on March 18, 1975, in Statesboro, Georgia. She is one of the most celebrated performers in Broadway history, known for her powerhouse voice and magnetic stage presence.
She won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical and spent seven seasons starring in the hit TV series Younger. Her journey from a dancing kid in Michigan to a Broadway legend is a story worth telling.
Who is Sutton Foster?
Sutton Lenore Foster is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical theater actresses of her generation. She has appeared in over a dozen Broadway productions and earned seven Tony Award nominations in her career.
Her fame stretches far beyond the stage. Millions of fans around the world know her as Liza Miller from the TV Land comedy-drama Younger, which ran for seven seasons from 2015 to 2021. That show became the longest-running original series in TV Land history.
She is also a singer, a published author, and a visual artist. Foster released her debut album Wish in 2009 and published the book Hooked in 2021.
That triple-threat talent is rare in any era of entertainment.
Beyond performing, she has received honorary doctorates for her contributions to theater and the arts. Few performers in American history have matched her consistency and range on the Broadway stage.
Early Life of Sutton Foster
Sutton Foster was born in Statesboro, Georgia, and later moved with her family to Troy, Michigan. Her father, Bob Foster, worked for General Motors, and her mother, Helen Foster, supported her early passion for performing. She started taking dance lessons at just four years old.
By the age of ten, she had already landed the lead role of Annie in a community theater production. That early taste of the spotlight set her on a clear path.
Her older brother, Hunter Foster, also became a successful Broadway actor. The Foster family became a notable name in American musical theater.
Sutton Foster Age
Sutton Foster is 51 years old as of 2026, born on March 18, 1975. She remains one of the most active and sought-after performers on the Broadway stage today.
Sutton Foster Ethnicity and Nationality
Sutton Foster is an American national of White ethnicity. She was born and raised in the United States and has built her entire career within the American theater and television industries.
Sutton Foster Height and Weight
Sutton Foster stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall, which is approximately 1.75 meters. Her height has always been one of her most commanding physical attributes on stage.
She weighs around 60 kg, or 132 pounds. Her tall frame and dancer’s physicality have made her a natural fit for large-scale Broadway productions with demanding choreography.
Her stature gives her an unmistakable presence the moment she walks onto any stage.
Sutton Foster Education
Sutton Foster attended Troy High School in Michigan but left before graduating to pursue her performing career. She later completed her high school diploma through correspondence courses.
She briefly enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to study theater. However, she left after just one year to focus on professional stage work full time.
Her real education happened in touring productions and rehearsal rooms across America.
Sutton Foster Career
Early Career and Broadway Debut
Sutton Foster launched her professional career at just 15, appearing as a contestant on the reality competition show Star Search. That same year, she auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club, though she was not selected.
Her Broadway debut came in 1996, when she joined the ensemble of Les Misérables as an understudy for the role of Éponine. She also toured nationally in Grease as Sandy Dumbrowski in 1995, which paved the way for her Broadway entrance.
Additionally, she performed in national touring productions of The Will Rogers Follies and The Scarlet Pimpernel during the late 1990s.
Those years on tour built the foundation of a legendary career.
Breakthrough: Thoroughly Modern Millie
Everything changed for Sutton Foster in 2002.
She stepped into the lead role of Millie Dillmount in the Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. The performance earned her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Critics and audiences were stunned by her energy, vocal range, and natural comedic gifts.
That role transformed her from a working stage actress into a Broadway star.
Broadway Rise and Television
After Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sutton Foster became one of the most in-demand performers on the Broadway circuit. She originated roles in several notable productions, including Jo March in Little Women (2005), Janet Van de Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical (2008), and Inga in Young Frankenstein (2008).
Her second Tony Award arrived in 2011, when she starred as Reno Sweeney in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Anything Goes at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Also in that production, she won the Astaire Award for Best Dancer on Broadway.
Then came television. From 2015 to 2021, she starred as Liza Miller in Younger on TV Land, a role that brought her to a whole new global audience.
Recent Projects
In 2022, Sutton Foster returned to Broadway opposite Hugh Jackman in a widely acclaimed revival of The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theatre. Her portrayal of Marian Paroo earned her a seventh Tony Award nomination and the 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
She reprised the role of Reno Sweeney in London’s West End production of Anything Goes in 2021 at the Barbican Theatre, earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2024, she joined the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Mrs. Lovett, replacing Annaleigh Ashford opposite Aaron Tveit.
Foster also starred as Princess Winnifred in a revival of Once Upon a Mattress in 2024 and 2025, performing both in New York and Los Angeles.
Sutton Foster Broadway Filmography
| Year | Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Les Misérables | Ensemble / Éponine understudy |
| 2002 | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Millie Dillmount (Tony Award) |
| 2005 | Little Women | Jo March |
| 2006 | The Drowsy Chaperone | Janet Van de Graaff |
| 2008 | Young Frankenstein | Inga |
| 2008 | Shrek the Musical | Princess Fiona |
| 2011 | Anything Goes | Reno Sweeney (Tony Award) |
| 2014 | Violet | Violet Karl |
| 2022 | The Music Man | Marian Paroo |
| 2024 | Sweeney Todd | Mrs. Lovett |
| 2025 | Once Upon a Mattress | Princess Winnifred |
Sutton Foster Awards and Recognition
Foster has accumulated an extraordinary list of honors over her career. She received two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical — for Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002 and Anything Goes in 2011. Foster has also received seven total Tony nominations, making her one of the most nominated actresses in Broadway history.
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical — Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical — Anything Goes (2011)
- Drama Desk Award — Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002) and Anything Goes (2011)
- Outer Critics Circle Award — Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes, and Shrek the Musical
- Astaire Award for Best Dancer on Broadway (2011)
- Drama League Distinguished Performance Award (2022)
- Olivier Award nomination — Anything Goes, West End (2021)
She has also received Grammy Award and Laurence Olivier Award nominations during her career.
Sutton Foster Boyfriend
Sutton Foster has been publicly dating actor Hugh Jackman since early 2025. The two first became friends in the early 2000s, when both were performing in different Broadway shows.
They later co-starred together in the 2022 Broadway revival of The Music Man, where their close friendship blossomed over the course of the production.
The pair confirmed their romantic relationship in January 2025, when they were photographed holding hands in Santa Monica, California.
They made their official red carpet debut as a couple in October 2025 at the Los Angeles premiere of Jackman’s film Song Sung Blue at AFI Fest.
Hugh Jackman called her “truly magical” in a public Instagram tribute in November 2025.
Before Jackman, Foster was married to Broadway actor Christian Borle from 2006 to 2009. She later married screenwriter Ted Griffin in October 2014. Foster filed for divorce from Griffin in October 2024, after ten years of marriage.
Sutton Foster Children
Sutton Foster has one daughter, Emily Dale Griffin, born on March 5, 2017. She and her then-husband Ted Griffin adopted Emily as a newborn and announced the adoption in April 2017.
Emily is Foster’s only child. Foster has spoken warmly about her daughter in interviews and concert performances, including during a January 2025 Arizona Musicfest show where audience members noted she shared stories about her seven-year-old girl.
Sutton Foster Net Worth
Sutton Foster’s estimated net worth is $4 million as of 2026. Her income comes primarily from her decades-long career as a Broadway headliner, television actress, and concert performer.
Broadway leading roles generate substantial salaries, and stars of her caliber reportedly earn weekly paychecks in the thousands during major productions. Her seven-season run on Younger on TV Land added significantly to her earnings.
Concert tours, one-woman cabaret shows, and regular appearances at venues like Café Carlyle in New York City also contribute to her income.
In May 2021, Foster purchased a home in Tuxedo, New York, for $1.61 million. She listed the property for sale in December 2023 for $2.2 million.
She also earns royalties from her music albums, including Wish (2009) and An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Café Carlyle (2011).
Sutton Foster Social Media
Sutton Foster is active on Instagram under the handle @suttonlenore, where she has nearly 800,000 followers. She regularly shares updates from her performances, personal moments, and her artwork with fans.
She is also on X (formerly Twitter) under the handle @sfosternyc, where she connects with her theater audience. Her official website at suttonfoster.com features updates on her upcoming shows and projects.
Foster is one of the more engaged Broadway stars on social media, giving fans a genuine window into her life both on and off the stage.
The Bottom Line
Sutton Foster is a true Broadway legend whose talent, work ethic, and versatility have kept her at the top of the theater world for over two decades.
From her Tony Award-winning turns in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes to her beloved television role in Younger, she has proven time and again that she is one of the greatest performers of her generation.
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