Sophie Hayden

Sophie Hayden (born February 23, 1954, as Sophie Ann Schwab) is an American actress. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her role as Rosabella in the Broadway theatre revival production of The Most Happy Fella in 1992.

Life and career
Hayden was born on February 23, 1954, in Miami, Florida, to Sophie Schwab. She grew up in North Java, New York, and attended Attica Central High School. Hayden was crowned as world champion baton twirler in 1971. She attended Northwestern University and majored in acting. She moved back to New York in 1976.

In 1979, she performed in The King of Schnorrers on Broadway. She was an original cast member of Barnum on Broadway in 1980, and appeared in a production of The Comedy of Errors at Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1987. In 1991, she joined the revival production of The Most Happy Fella during its run in East Haddam, Connecticut, as Rosabella. The show delayed its transfer to Broadway until after Hayden, who was pregnant while it was staged in Connecticut, gave birth. It opened in January 1992, and closed in August 1992. For her performance, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In 1997, Hayden portrayed Edith Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, a stage adaptation of Diary of a Young Girl, at Music Box Theatre.

Personal
Hayden married in 1980 and they have one child together. Shortly before starring in The Comedy of Errors, she changed her stage name to Sophie Hayden in honor of ballerina Melissa Hayden.