Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was a renowned American actress and dancer, celebrated for her illustrious career in musical comedy performances on Broadway, where she won four Tony Awards, and her work as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach in theater and film.
Born with fiery red hair and a distinctive voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer from the 1950s to the 1970s, originating numerous roles in musicals and being closely associated with her second husband, director-choreographer Bob Fosse, who choreographed much of his work and left her as the guardian of his legacy after his passing.
By the age of six, Verdon was already dancing on stage, and she went on to study various dance forms, including tap, jazz, ballroom, flamenco, and Balinese. In 1942, Verdon's parents asked her to marry family friend and tabloid reporter James Henaghan after he got her pregnant at 17, and she quit her dancing career to raise their child. Following her divorce, she entrusted her son Jimmy to the care of her parents.
Early on, Verdon found employment as an assistant to choreographer Jack Cole, during which time she took on small roles in movie musicals as a "specialty dancer" and also taught dance to stars such as Jane Russell, Fernando Lamas, and Lana Turner. Verdon started her Broadway career as a "gypsy," moving from one chorus line to another, before landing her breakthrough role as the second female lead in Cole Porter's musical Can-Can.
Her biggest success came with George Abbott's Damn Yankees, for which she won another Tony Award and reprised her role in the 1958 movie version. Verdon won her third Tony Award for her performance in the musical New Girl in Town and her fourth Tony Award for Redhead. She continued to collaborate with Fosse on projects such as the musicals Chicago and Dancin', as well as the film All That Jazz.
After originating the role of Roxie opposite Chita Rivera's Velma Kelly in Chicago, Verdon shifted her focus to film acting, appearing in character roles in movies such as The Cotton Club, Cocoon, and its sequel. She continued to teach dance and musical theater and act, earning three Emmy Award nominations for her appearances on Magnum, P.I., Dream On, and Homicide: Life on the Street.
Verdon appeared in the films Alice and Marvin's Room, and in 1999, she served as artistic consultant on the Broadway musical Fosse, which won a Tony Award for best musical. She received a total of four Tonys, for best featured actress for Can-Can and best leading actress for Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, and Redhead, as well as a Grammy Award for the cast recording of Redhead.
Verdon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981 and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1998.
