Cast & creator
Laura Benanti
Best known for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Laura Benanti (born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, winning the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2016 she starred in She Loves Me as Amalia Balash, which was televised. She played Elsa Schräder in the 2013 NBC television production of The Sound of Music Live!, appeared as Sadie Stone in Nashville in 2014 and 2015 and that same year began playing twin sisters Alura and Astra in the TV series Supergirl. Beginning in 2017, Benanti appeared as Edie Randall in the TBS comedy The Detour. Since 2016, she has had a recurring role as First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Also known as: Laura Ilene Benanti, لورا بنانتی, Laura Ilene Vidnovic, Laura Vidnovic
27
film credits
37
television credits
63
1956–2026 · acting roles
6.5
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (64)
Showing 64 of 64 credits
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Melania Trump
2015The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Juror 11
2015
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Maria Grazie
1999
The Good Wife
Renata Ellard
2009
Elementary
Anne Barker
2012
The Tamron Hall Show
Self - Guest
2019
Supergirl
Alura Zor-El / Astra
2015Supergirl
Alura Zor-El
2015
Tony Awards
Self - Performer
1956Tony Awards
Self - Winner
1956Tony Awards
Self - Nominee
1956
Mayor of Kingstown
Cindy Stephens
2021
Elsbeth
Nadine Clay
2024
Younger
Quinn Tyler
2015
Nurse Jackie
Mia
2009
Beat Bobby Flay
Self
2013
Royal Pains
Shelby Shackelford
2009
The Gilded Age
Susan Blane
2022
Stars in the House
Self
2020Stars in the House
Self - Host
2020
Match Game
Self - Panelist
2016
The $100,000 Pyramid
2016
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure
Lady Caine (voice)
2017
Eli Stone
Beth Keller
2008
Gossip Girl
Kiki Hope
2021
No Hard Feelings
Allison Becker
2023
Life on Mars
Denise Carling
2008
Go On
Lauren Schneider
2012
The Detour
Edie
2016
Ziwe
Jane
2021Ziwe
Fake Ziwe
2021Ziwe
2021
Would I Lie to You?
Self
2022
Tangled: Before Ever After
Lady Caine (voice)
2017
tick, tick... BOOM!
Judy
2021
Kinda Pregnant
Daisy's Mom
2025
Slugfest
Louise Simonson
2021
The Playboy Club
Bunny Carol-Lynne
2011
Shut Up Evan
Self - Guest
2026
Here Today
Francine
2021
Goodrich
Naomi
2024
Starved
Billie Frasier
2005
Take the Lead
Tina
2006
Worth
Karen Donato
2021
Everything's Going to Be Great
Tallulah Bankhead
2025
The Sound of Music Live!
Baroness Elsa Schrader
2013
Russian Broadway Shut Down
Sophia
2014
Meskada
Allison Connor
2010
Sondheim! The Birthday Concert
Self
2010
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
Cinderella (segment "Into the Woods") (archive footage)
2005
Reopening: The Broadway Revival
Self
2022The Ditch
Untitled Dan Perlman Project
The Shade
Renee Beckman
2024
She Loves Me: Behind the Curtain
Self
2017
Falling for Grace
Alexandra
2006
Becoming Benanti: The Role of a Lifetime
Self (pre-recorded video)
2022
She Loves Me
Amalia
2016
Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale
Melania Trump
2016
A Backstage Look at "The Wedding Singer" on Broadway
Self
Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020
Self - Host
2020Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020
Producer
2020