Connie Fisher

A singer and actress who first made a national name for herself by winning a BBC television talent show, Connie Fisher built on her years of experience in musical theater and her skills to create for herself a multi-faceted career that would include not only musical theater, but recorded vocal work and television drama. Born June 17, 1983, in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Fisher in her teenage years was the member of many stage societies, performed in a number of different shows (i.e., South Pacific, Pirates of Penzance, Woyzek, etc.), and toured in the National Youth Music Theater's production of Pendragon, a show that would also tour Japan. After winning scholarships and competitions, Fisher attended the Mountview Academy of Arts, graduating in 2005 with honors. More stage appearances followed, as well as her first television exposure. Her first recorded vocal work appeared around that time, singing "Curiad Calon" for a Welsh-language compilation album. Her first professional stage appearance came about in 2005, performing as Princess Samina in Aladdin. The role that would define her career, that of Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, was to be a role that she would have to compete for on the talent show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? in 2006. The concept for the show was that the winner would win a six-month contract to perform as Maria in the legendary musical in London's West End. Fisher's win was proven to be valid when she was well received by critics in their reviews on her debut in the role in November 2006. Her final appearance as Maria von Trapp, as determined by an extension of the contract, was in February 2008. In 2006, she released her first album, Favourite Things, which cracked the Top 20 in the U.K., and she was slated to release her next album in 2008, to be accompanied by a promotional tour.