Elaine Paige

Elaine Paige

Born: March 5, 1948
in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Elaine Jill Paige OBE (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.

Following a number of roles over the next decade, Paige was selected to play Eva Perón in the first production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. For this role, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a musical. She originated the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with "Memory", a song from the show.

In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well" with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. She has also worked sporadically in television.

In addition to being nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, Paige has won many other awards for her theatre roles and has been called the First Lady of British Musical Theatre due to her skill and longevity. She has released 22 solo albums, of which eight were consecutively certified gold and another four multi-platinum. Paige is also featured on seven cast albums and has sung in concerts across the world. Since 2004 she has hosted her own show on BBC Radio 2 called Elaine Paige on Sunday.

In 2014, Paige celebrated her 50 years in show business. Paige announced on her official website a "Farewell" concert tour and a new career-spanning album The Ultimate Collection to mark this milestone in her career. Outside of her work in musical theatre, Paige is a vice-president of The Children's Trust, a UK charity for children with brain injury.

Elaine Jill Bickerstaff was born and raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, where her father Eric worked as an estate agent and her mother Irene was a milliner. Her mother had been a singer in her youth, and her father was an amateur drummer. Paige stands at just under 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, which she says has caused her to lose out on leading roles. Her original ambition was to become a professional tennis player, at which point her headmistress pointed out to her "they'd never see you over the net", but Paige continued to play tennis and has referred to the sport as one of her passions. ...

Source: Article "Elaine Paige" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Elaine Paige...

Show Tunes at the BBC
Title: Show Tunes at the BBC
Character: Herself
Released: January 27, 2024
Type: Movie
A collection of Elaine Paige's personal favourites from the BBC's song and dance archives, including songs from Cats, Sunset Boulevard, My Fair Lady, West Side Story and The Sound of Music.
bee
Elaine Paige at the BBC
Title: Elaine Paige at the BBC
Character: Self
Released: January 29, 2022
Type: Movie
Selection of Elaine Paige’s appearances on BBC TV over her four decades in show business and musical theatre
bee
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Title: Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Character: Self
Released: August 14, 2021
Type: Movie
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age explores the world of Broadway from 1959 through the early 1980s as recounted by a diverse cast of Broadway stars who lived through it, creating a first-hand archive of personal backstage stories and memories. The new documentary is the long-awaited sequel to late filmmaker Rick McKay’s award-winning 2003 film Broadway: The Golden Age, continuing the saga into the '60s and '70s and spotlighting beloved classic Broadway shows including Once Upon a Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, Barefoot in the Park, Pippin, A Chorus Line, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Chicago, and 42nd Street. Featuring a galaxy of stars including Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Glenn Close, André De Shields, Jane Fonda, Robert Goulet, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, and many more, the film also includes rare archival photos and never-before-seen footage both onstage and off.
bee
Musicals: The Greatest Show
Title: Musicals: The Greatest Show
Character: Self
Released: February 7, 2021
Type: Movie
Recorded at the London Palladium and hosted by Sheridan Smith, this joyous celebration of musical theatre is packed with showstoppers from the West End’s biggest productions, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and guests including Elaine Paige, Michael Ball, Amanda Holden, Nicole Scherzinger, Josh Groban and Lea Salonga. Idina Menzel and Elaine Paige reveal the Top 10 songs from musicals, as voted for by BBC Radio 2 listeners, and there’s even a special performance from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s next big show, Cinderella.
bee
Des O'Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer
Title: Des O'Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer
Character: Self
Released: November 23, 2020
Type: Movie
ITV pay tribute to Des O'Connor in this special celebrating his life and work, telling how Des went from Butlins Redcoat to become the ultimate entertainer.
bee
Title: Life
Character: Helen
Released: September 29, 2020
Type: TV
Follow the lives and woes of the residents of a Manchester house divided into four different flats. Gemma Foster's neighbour, Emma, now goes by the name of Belle, looking to start a new life. Three other interconnected stories tell a tale of love, loss, birth, death, the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.
bee
ABBA: Super Troupe
Title: ABBA: Super Troupe
Character: Self
Released: February 19, 2019
Type: Movie
Few bands have been able to dominate the industry in the same way as ABBA. Bursting onto the scene at the 1974 Eurovision song contest, ABBA took the world by storm, going on to sell over 300 million albums and singles and gave birth to the billion-dollar franchise, Mamma Mia.But their fame didn’t come without pain.Behind their lyrics were honest signs of true heartbreak. Since announcing their break in 1982, ABBA have continued to welcome new fans, generation after generation. Follow their journey to celebrity stardom, through archival interviews and performances from ABBA, with added inside knowledge from leading industry professionals.
bee
Evita: The Making of a Superstar
Title: Evita: The Making of a Superstar
Character: Self
Released: November 24, 2018
Type: Movie
Suzy Klein travels deep into the world of musical theatre, and the colourful landscapes of Argentina, to discover the story of one of the West End's most celebrated characters. Intertwining the stories of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's creation with the true story of Eva Peron, she celebrates the extraordinary show in the 40th year after its creation. Meeting musical stars including Elaine Paige, Hal Prince and Tim Rice, she hears how the show came into being, all inspired by a face on a postage stamp. She then travels to Argentina, meeting politicians, performers and Eva fans to hear how this intensely divisive figure - loved by the poor, loathed by the rich - became one of the enduring icons of our time.
bee
Title: All Star Musicals
Character: Self - Judge
Released: December 24, 2017
Type: TV
Follow All Star Musicals features a cast of famous faces who each perform an iconic number from a hit musical at the legendary Palladium Theatre in London's West End. After each performance, the panel awards the celebrities a score and at the end of the night, these scores are combined with the studio audience vote to crown one celebrity the All Star Musicals champion.
bee
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Character: Mistress Quince
Released: May 30, 2016
Type: Movie
At the tyrannical court of Athens, pitiless dictator Theseus plans his wedding to Hippolyta, a prisoner of war, while young Hermia is sentenced to death by her own father for loving the wrong man. Meanwhile, in the town below, an amateur theatre group rehearses. And beyond Athens, in the wild woods, dark forces are stirring...
bee
Our Cilla
Title: Our Cilla
Character: Self
Released: December 25, 2015
Type: Movie
Tribute to entertainer Cilla Black.
bee
Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here
Title: Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here
Character: Self
Released: November 6, 2015
Type: Movie
Award-winning actress, singer, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige has made a unique and major contribution to the development and production of the stage musical. Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here is a special concert that was filmed at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, and features ‘The First Lady of British Musical Theatre’, with the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra. Full of great musical moments, Elaine performs musical numbers from some of the highlights of her extraordinary career, which saw her originating the roles of Eva Perón in Evita, Grizabella in Cats and Florence in Chess. The songs featured include Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, As If We Never said Goodbye, I Know Him So Well, Memory, a specially written version of I’m Still Here by Stephen Sondheim, plus many more musical theatre favourites and a few surprises.
bee
Title: Father Brown
Character: Mrs. Octavia Eden
Released: January 14, 2013
Type: TV
Father Brown is based on G. K. Chesterton's detective stories about a Catholic priest who doubles as an amateur detective in order to try and solve mysteries.
bee
A Closed Book
Title: A Closed Book
Character: Canvasser
Released: July 13, 2012
Type: Movie
Jane appears to be ideal: attractive, intelligent, unruffled by her employer's abrupt eccentricities. But, gradually, we come aware that Jane has another agenda. Incrementally, Sir Paul's familiar surroundings are altered. His housekeeper is diverted away, strange things happen around the house and he becomes increasingly dependent on his new assistant.
bee
Title: Beautiful People
Character: Self
Released: October 2, 2008
Type: TV
Beautiful People is a British comedy drama television series based on the memoirs of Barneys creative director Simon Doonan. The series takes place in Reading, Berkshire, in 1997, where thirteen-year-old Simon Doonan and his best friend Kylie dream of escaping their dreary suburban surroundings and moving to cosmopolitan London "to live amongst the beautiful people." The first episode aired on BBC Two on 2 October 2008 and recorded overnight ratings of 1.5 million viewers and positive critical reaction. Episodes are self-contained, but do follow a loose story arc throughout the course of each series. The second and final series finished airing on 18 December 2009.
bee
Title: The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Character: Self
Released: September 3, 2007
Type: TV
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 and currently airs on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" theme with many of the shows' segments focusing on fashion, health, nature, cookery and animals.
bee
Title: The One Show
Character: Self
Released: August 14, 2006
Type: TV
A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD. The programme is currently hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker from Monday-Thursday, with Chris Evans appearing instead of Baker on Fridays and relief presenters appearing when required.
bee
Title: Agatha Christie's Marple
Character: Dora Bunner
Released: December 12, 2004
Type: TV
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
bee
Title: The Paul O'Grady Show
Character: Self
Released: October 11, 2004
Type: TV
The Paul O'Grady Show is a British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4, where the show was produced by Olga TV. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, and occasionally viewer competitions.
bee
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Masterpiece
Title: Andrew Lloyd Webber: Masterpiece
Character: Self
Released: September 30, 2001
Type: Movie
September of 2001 saw the ground breaking introduction of musical theater to China, with MASTERPIECE - THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER presented at The Great Hall of the People. This spectacular live concert stars Elaine Page and recording sensation Kris Philips (Fei Xiang) together with an international ensemble cast and sixty piece orchestra. MASTERPIECE - THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER includes performances of many hits from his internationally acclaimed productions including CATS, THE FANTOM OF THE OPERA, EVITA and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Be a part of this truly historic Masterpiece that is THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, live in Beijing.
bee
An Audience with Cliff Richard
Title: An Audience with Cliff Richard
Character: Self
Released: November 13, 1999
Type: Movie
The singer performs for and interacts with a small audience.
bee
Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Title: Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Character: Grizabella
Released: November 7, 1998
Type: Movie
'Hey, Mr Producer!' features selected scenes from the productions of the world's most successful musical producer, Cameron Mackintosh - classic songs from classic musicals performed by the ultimate cast.
bee
Cats
Title: Cats
Character: Grizabella
Released: October 5, 1998
Type: Movie
"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn.
bee
Title: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Character: Self - Contestant
Released: September 4, 1998
Type: TV
A game show created in the United Kingdom, in which contestants attempt to answer general knowledge questions in an intimidating atmosphere in order to scoop the £1 million top prize. The original series was hosted by Chris Tarrant, and its modern-day revival is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.
bee
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
Title: Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
Character: Self - Performer
Released: June 6, 1998
Type: Movie
British superstar composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is feted in this 50th birthday benefit gala produced by Lloyd Webber's own theatrical company at London's historic Royal Albert Hall. The tribute includes highlights from Lloyd Webber's blockbuster stage hits, including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, and Sunset Boulevard. An eclectic performing cast filmed live during the event features Tina Arena, Michael Ball, Antonio Banderas, Boyzone, Sarah Brightman, Glenn Close, Julian Lloyd Webber, Marcus Lovett, Lottie Mayor, Dennis O'Neill, Donny Osmond, Elaine Paige, Ray Shell, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Bonnie Tyler
bee
Title: Midsomer Murders
Character: Sylvia Reynolds
Released: March 23, 1997
Type: TV
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
bee
Title: Pebble Mill
Character: Self
Released: October 14, 1991
Type: TV
Pebble Mill was a re-launched version of the 1970s daily chat show Pebble Mill (also known as Pebble Mill At One for a while) which aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The series premiered on October 14, 1991. The show was a mixture of celebrity guests and music. Alan Titchmarsh was a presenter on the show throughout it's complete run. Other presenters included Judi Spiers, Gloria Hunniford and Ross King.
bee
Unexplained Laughter
Title: Unexplained Laughter
Character: Betty
Released: April 25, 1989
Type: Movie
Lydia is unlucky in love and retreats to the Welsh countryside with her friend Betty. But the beautiful scenery holds its own humour and passion.
bee
A View of Harry Clark
Title: A View of Harry Clark
Character: Anne Clark
Released: March 21, 1989
Type: Movie
Harry Clark is a social worker on the verge of cracking up. His job is to help other people: who is there to help him?
bee
Title: This Morning
Character: Self
Released: October 3, 1988
Type: TV
This Morning features a variety of news, as well as show business, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home and garden, food, tech, live phone-ins, and competitions.
bee
Title: Michael Barrymore's Saturday Night Out
Character: Self
Released: July 23, 1988
Type: TV
A BBC variety entertainment summer series, for the first season presented from The Fort Regent Leisure Centre, Jersey and from The Dominion Theatre in London's Tottenham Court Road for the second.
bee
Title: Daytime Live
Character: Self
Released: October 21, 1987
Type: TV
bee
Magasinet Special: Chess 1984
Title: Magasinet Special: Chess 1984
Character: Self
Released: November 8, 1984
Type: Movie
A documentary about the recording of the CHESS concept album by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.
bee
Title: Show & Co. mit Carlo
Character: Self
Released: March 29, 1984
Type: TV
bee
Title: Wogan
Character: Self
Released: May 4, 1982
Type: TV
Wogan is a British television chat show
bee
Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
bee
Title: Tales of the Unexpected
Character: Suzie
Released: March 24, 1979
Type: TV
A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
bee
Title: The Marti Caine Show
Character: Self
Released: January 8, 1979
Type: TV
Marti Caine presents a star studded variety show in which she performs comedy material, sings and dances alongside special guests.
bee
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
Title: The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
Character: Kim
Released: November 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Aspiring dancer Phyllis Dixey makes her name as a stripper.
bee
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate
Title: Adventures of a Plumber's Mate
Character: Daisy
Released: July 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Randy plumber Sid South enjoys a profession which offers him ample opportunity to bed sexy housewives.
bee
Title: An Audience with...
Character: Self
Released: January 8, 1978
Type: TV
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
bee
Title: Numéro un
Character: Self
Released: April 5, 1975
Type: TV
A French variety show.
bee
Title: Great Performances
Character: Self
Released: January 28, 1971
Type: TV
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
bee
Title: Einer wird gewinnen
Character: Self
Released: January 25, 1964
Type: TV
bee
I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story
Title: I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story
Character: Herself
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
A biopic of Susan Boyle's journey from a small village in rural Scotland to international fame and fan-fare following her inspiring performance on “Britain’s Got Talent,” the British reality competition series executive produced by Simon Cowell that rocketed her to superstardom.