Donna Lynne Champlin
Michael Arden, Dane Laffrey, and More Will Receive Transporting American Theatre Award (Feb 19, 2026)
Annaleigh Ashford, Sandra Caldwell, & Ann Harada Join YOU MIGHT KNOW HER FROM Live Podcast Recording at Laurie Beechman Theatre (Feb 18, 2026)
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld December 15, 2025- OPERATION MINCEMEAT Extends For a Sixth Time and More (Dec 15, 2025)
BIO
Champlin took on the title role of Very Warm for May, made her Broadway debut in James Joyce's The Dead, then By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot the Musical, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, for which she won the 2007 Obie Award. Other credits include: No, No Nanette, Very Good Eddie, First Lady Suite, Harold and Maude, My Life with Albertine, Bloomer Girl, and Jolson. She also performed with Len Cariou in the Simply Sondheim inaugural concert which celebrated the opening of the Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts.
Champlin's awards include the 2019 Gracie Award for Best Supporting Actress, 2013 Drama Desk Award, 2007 OBIE award, the Princess Grace Award, the title of National Tap Dance Champion four consecutive times, and she has received grants from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, The Anna Sosenko Trust, Princess Grace Foundation, and has received The Charlie Willard Memorial Grant.
Champlin's film and television credits include The Dark Half, the 2000 and 2006 Annual Tony Awards, The View, Law & Order, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, The Good Doctor, and Live with Regis and Kelly. From 2015 to 2019, she starred in the role of Paula Proctor in The CW comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend., Hortense in Another Period and Barb in Netflix's Feel the Beat. In 2022, she appeared in the Showtime series The First Lady.
Champlin released a solo album entitled Old Friends, performs a one-woman show entitled Finishing the Hat, and teaches acting at the Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Hartford, and New York University. She spends her downtime writing, raising money for JDRF, BCEFA, The Actors Fund, and lives with her family in NYC.
STAGE CREDITS
Movies
[ 2011 ] Sandra
[ 2014 ] Broadway Lady
[ 2017 ] Leisureland Administrator
[ 2019 ] Mrs. Veda
[ 2020 ] Miss Barb
TV Shows
Paula Proctor
Sergeant Angelyne Robinson
Kim Gifford
Performer
Nikki Henry
Leslie Thompkins
Performer
Nikki Henry
Leslie Thompkins
[ 1999-2025 ] Megan Wallace
[ 2024-2025 ] Mama Martin
Awards and Nominations
winner
Donna Lynne Champlin The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
winner
Donna Lynne ChamplinThe Dark at the Top of the Stairs
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Donna Lynne Champlin has appeared on Broadway in 5 shows.
Donna Lynne Champlin has not appeared in the West End.
Performance (Obie Awards) for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Performance (Obie Awards) for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
Donna Lynne Champlin has won the Performance Obie Award for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
Videos