Ute Lemper (born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill. Her numerous roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of Cabaret, for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago in both London and New York, which won her the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Biography

Born in Münster, Germany, Ute Gertrude Lemper was raised in a Roman Catholic family. She joined the jazz-rock music group known as the Panama Drive Band at the age of 16. Later, she graduated from the Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna.

Her diverse credits include musicals, such as her breakthrough role in the original Viennese cast of Cats, the title role in Peter Pan, a recreation of the Marlene Dietrich-created Lola in The Blue Angel, the original European Sally Bowles in a Paris production of Cabaret, and Velma Kelly in Chicago (Lemper has played the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago in both London and New York. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in London). She also dubbed the singing voices of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid and Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame for German-speaking audiences.

In 1991 Ute Lemper participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with song The Photograph, written by Italian songwriter Enzo Jannacci.

A painter in the neoclassical style, Lemper's paintings have been showcased in numerous galleries.

Lemper, a mother of four, resides on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan in New York City. She performs worldwide, recently in the Middle East. Her autobiography was published in Berlin in 1995. She has also authored several journal articles.


Film and television work
She starred as Marie Antoinette for L'Autrichienne (1989, directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre), and subsequently appeared in films such as Prorva, Bogus, Jean Galmot, aventurier, Prospero's Books, Appetite and Prêt-à-Porter (in the latter appearing in a well-publicised nude scene filmed while she was pregnant, and she received National Board of Review for Ensemble Cast award). She has contributed to the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Voyager, Kissing Jessica Stein and Appetite.

In 2007, Lemper was a juror in Let's Dance, the German version of Dancing with the Stars.