About this Artist
NELL CARTER is best known for her Tony Award-winning performance in the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin' and long running television series Gimme A Break. However, she recently appeared in the off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues, performing both in New York and with the Road Company.
Carter grew up singing in coffeehouses in her native Birmingham, Alabama. Broadway quickly welcomed the multitalented performer, and in 1978 Carter was catapulted to national fame with her show-stopping performance in the Fats Waller musical, Ain't Misbehavin'. She garnered rave reviews for her work in the electrifying musical, as well as the theatre's most prestigious awards, including the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Award, the Theatre World Award and The Obie Award. Carter's extensive theatre credits also include: Hello Dolly!, Hair, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Bury the Dead.
While Carter is undeniably a Broadway baby, the legendary diva also boasts an impressive list of television credits, most notably her six-year stint on the NBC comedy Gimme a Break, which earned her two Emmy Award nominations. She also appeared in Ryan's Hope, Lobo, You Take the Kids and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and won an Emmy for her performance in the television adaptation of Ain't Misbehavin'.
The versatile actress has also lit up the silver screen in films, including Special Delivery, co-starring Penny Marshall and Sean Young, The Grass Harp, with Piper Laurie, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemon, Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen, and the Merchant-Ivory film The Proprietor, starring Jeanne Moreau.
An entertainer of unparalleled versatility and scope, Carter frequently performs, as well as lectures to sold-out audiences throughout the world. Her recordings include the original cast recording of Ain't Misbehavin', Ben Bagley's Everyone Else Revisited, Kurt Weill Revisited: Kurt Weill, volume 2, Leonard Bernstein Revisited, The Proprietor Soundtrack, To Life! Chanukah and Other Jewish Celebrations, My Favorite Broadway, The Leading Ladies and Misbehavin’.