Patina Renea Miller is an American actress and singer. Miller is best known for originating the role of discodiva wannabe Deloris Van Cartier in the 2009 West End and 2011 Broadway productions of Sister Act. She also starred as the Leading Player in the 2013 revival of Pippin. This role earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She is also known for her role as Commander Paylor in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay films, and her starring role as Daisy Grant in the CBS political drama Madam Secretary.
Early life and education
Born in Pageland, South Carolina, and raised in a single parent home, she was introduced to music at an early age and sang with the gospel choir at her local church. She attended South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities and in 2006 graduated with a degree in musical theatre from Carnegie Mellon University, which she attended on a full scholarship. She has credited her time at Carnegie Mellon as a big part of her life, saying, "It was there that I studied and really realized that I could make my dream a reality. I'm so thankful to all my teachers who helped me to become the performer I am today. I'm so proud of my school and feel so blessed to have gotten such a wonderful education and made lifelong friends."
Career
In 2005, Miller was one of three finalists for the role of Effie White in the musical drama Dreamgirls, which ultimately won Jennifer Hudson the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2007, she was cast as Pam Henderson in the daytime soap operaAll My Children and appeared in 30 episodes of the show. She performed in a Central Park production of Hairin the summer of 2008 and was featured in the musical Romantic Poetry at the Manhattan Theatre Club that fall. Miller was cast as the lead role of Delores Van Cartier in Sister Act, a role she had understudied for six months during its initial run in the United States, following a year-long international search. The London production opened on June 2, 2009 at the London Palladium, and although it received mixed reviews, most critics singled out Miller and praised her performance. Benedict Nightingale of The Times cited her "terrific voice" and continued, "Add warmth, humour, vivacity—and you've a star who lacks Whoopi's wry vulnerability but adds dazzle to the razzle around her," while David Benedict of Variety thought her "powerhouse vocals, pitched somewhere between Gloria Gaynor and Whitney Houston, and her thrillingly fast vibrato act as the show's engine." For this role Miller won the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical and was also nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She remained with the production till it closed on October 30, 2010. Miller reprised the role of Deloris Van Cartier in the Broadway production of Sister Act, which began performances on March 24, 2011, at the Broadway Theatre and officially opened April 20, 2011. Miller also made her Broadway debut in this production. For this role she won a Theatre World Award and was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. She played her final performance in the Broadway company on March 18, 2012 and was replaced by Raven-Symoné on March 27. Miller also starred as Linda in the City CenterEncores! production of Lost in the Stars, which ran from February 3–6, 2011. She performed as the Leading Player in the American Repertory Theater production of Pippin from December 5, 2012 to January 20, 2013. Miller recently reprised the role in the Broadway revival, which began performances on March 23, 2013, at the Music Box Theatre and officially opened on April 25, 2013. She won the Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 67th Tony Awards for this role. Miller played Commander Paylor in ' and ' in 2015. In May 2014, it was announced that she was cast as Daisy Grant, press coordinator to Secretary of StateElizabeth McCord in the CBS political drama Madam Secretary. The show premiered on Sunday, September 21, 2014, on CBS as part of the 2014–15 television season.
Personal life
On June 14, 2014, Miller married venture capitalist David Mars in New York City. Robin Burch, Miller’s mother, who is a Baptist minister, officiated at the ceremony. Their daughter, Emerson Harper, was born on August 9, 2017 in New York City.
