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Ellen Greene

b. February 22, 1951

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Ellen Greene until we are able to commission a full entry.

Singer and actress Ellen Greene in 2008.

Photo by Kristin dos Santos. From Wikimedia Commons.

While actress Ellen Greene has played a variety of roles, she is best known for her vulnerable performance as Audrey in both the live and film versions of the cult classic Little Shop of Horrors. Greene began performing in musicals at Cejwin Camps in Port Jervis, New York, as a teen. As an adult, she became a nightclub singer and debuted in the Broadway flop Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don’t You Ever Forget It) in 1973. Undeterred, she landed the starring role in In the Boom Boom Room and was nominated for a Tony for playing Jenny in the Lincoln Center revival of Three Penny Opera. She originated the role of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors off Broadway in 1982 and reprised the role in the 1986 film. Alongside her theater career, she has acted in television and film roles, including Pump Up the Volume, The Professional, Miami Vice, The X-Files, and Heroes, and landed a recurring role on Pushing Daisies from 2007 to 2009. In 2015, Greene reprised the role of Audrey in the Little Shop of Horrors staged concert at the New York City Center.  

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Ellen Greene." (Viewed on March 28, 2024) <http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/greene-ellen>.