Introduction
Anika Larsen (born December 19, 1973) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2014 for portraying Cynthia Weil in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Larsen has made an album of recordings titled, Sing You To Sleep.
Personal life
Larsen was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts in a blended family of adopted children. She studied theatre at Yale University and performed in the a cappella choir, Shades.
In 2015 she married musician Freddie Maxwell and gave birth to their first child, a son named Kie Larsen Maxwell.
Career
Larsen made her Broadway debut in 2000 in the ensemble of Rent. In 2002 she originated the role of Roberta in the cult Off-Broadway musical, Zanna, Don't!, for which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
In 2005 she again appeared on Broadway in the ensemble of All Shook Up and in 2007 performed in the original Broadway ensemble of Xanadu. She has also performed in Avenue Q playing the role of Lucy the Slut/Kate Monster on National Tour, Broadway, and Off-Broadway.
Larsen is the founder of the Jaradoa Theatre Company, which combines performance with community service. In 2009 a musical based on her own life, titled Shafrika: The White Girl, dealing with her experiences of living with a blended adoptive family, was staged at the Vineyard Theatre.