Linda Balgord


Linda Balgord is an American Broadway actress and singer, most notable for playing Norma Desmond in the 1996 United States tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard, being the last actress to portray Grizabella in the original Broadway run of Cats and originating the role of Queen Elizabeth I in The Pirate Queen on Broadway. She has also played the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, previously in the restaged North American tour, and then on Broadway.

Early life

Balgord was raised in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, and graduated from New Lisbon High School in 1978. Balgord is an alumna of Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Awards

She had a Helen Hayes Non-Resident Acting award in 1993, a Helen Hayes Resident Acting award in 1999. She also received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding featured actress in The Pirate Queen, for her role as Queen Elizabeth I.