27 Facts About Erika Henningsen

Erika Leigh Henningsen was born on August 13,1992 and is an American actress, singer and voice actress.

Erika Henningsen is best known for her work on Broadway and for originating the role of Cady Heron in the 2018 Tony-nominated musical Mean Girls, for which she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination.

Erika Henningsen is the youngest of three daughters born to Phil and Marybeth Henningsen.

When she was 14 years old, Erika Henningsen was cast in a local production of Grey Gardens and has stated in interviews that after performing in this production, she knew she wanted to pursue musical theatre as a career.

Erika Henningsen graduated from Campolindo High School in 2010 and then studied at the University of Michigan, earning a BFA in musical theatre in 2014.

Erika Henningsen was selected as the winner of the 2014 Alan Eisenberg Award Scholarship, an award given to a University of Michigan graduating senior in recognition of "outstanding talent and career potential" in musical theatre.

In 2010, at the age of 17, Erika Henningsen was cast in her first professional production as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray at the Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland, California.

Later that year, Erika Henningsen starred as Beth in the musical Diner, based on Barry Levinson's 1982 film of the same name with music and lyrics by Sheryl Crow.

Erika Henningsen remained part of the production and its extended run when it was staged by the Delaware Theatre Company in December 2015.

Erika Henningsen made her Broadway debut as Fantine in the revival of Les Miserables on March 3,2015.

Erika Henningsen has disclosed in interviews that she was about to file for unemployment when she learned she was cast as Fantine, which happened to be the last role she played as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, 11 months earlier.

Erika Henningsen is the youngest actress in Broadway history to portray the role of Fantine.

Erika Henningsen left the production along with fellow Les Miserables co-stars Ramin Karimloo and Samantha Hill on August 30,2015, and was replaced by Memphis star Montego Glover.

Erika Henningsen was later nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for this role.

Erika Henningsen left the production on February 22,2020, and was replaced by actress Sabrina Carpenter.

In January 2020, it was announced that Erika Henningsen would be joining the Broadway cast of the new musical Flying Over Sunset, scheduled to open in the spring of 2020 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater under the direction of James Lapine.

Erika Henningsen did not return to the production when it resumed performances in December 2021.

In December 2022, Erika Henningsen starred as Joy Mangano in the world premiere of the musical Joy at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey.

Erika Henningsen has actively been involved with Sing For Hope, a NYC-based non-profit organization dedicated to creating access to high-quality arts education and programming throughout New York City.

Erika Henningsen serves as an artist partner, teaches classes, and leads workshops with purpose of introducing and encouraging creative expression in NYC children with decreased access to the arts.

In December 2018, Erika Henningsen participated in the second annual Broadway Beats Hunger concert, raising funds for the Summit Medical Group Foundation's "Food, Health and Hope: An Answer to Diabetes" initiative.

Erika Henningsen was a prominent advocate for the Actors' Equity Association's "Not a Lab Rat" campaign, petitioning for actors participating in developmental labs for new stage productions to have a higher minimum salary and receive a share of the production's profits.

In just over a month, Erika Henningsen received over 1,100 donated books and shipped the "library" to Migori County, Kenya.

Erika Henningsen has served as a mentor and held masterclasses for various programs and organizations, such as The Performing Arts Project, Broadway Method Academy, Broadway Workshop, Exit II Theater, and The Broadway Collective.

Erika Henningsen's Zoom living room concert on May 15,2020, raised over $4,000 for She's the First.

Erika Henningsen began dating Mean Girls costar, Kyle Selig, in 2018.

Erika Henningsen married Selig on May 22,2023, in New York City.