O\'Hara was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and attended Nova High School, in Davie, Florida, and Parkway Middle School of The Arts, also in Florida. She performed in shows with the Fort Lauderdale Children\'s Theatre.\n', '

O\'Hara began acting at the age of four, attending acting classes in her home state of Florida. It was not until she was 12 years old that she developed an interest in singing and enrolled in a performing arts high school. O\'Hara cites American actress and singer Judy Garland as one of her idols.\n', '

O\'Hara made her first appearance on the Broadway stage as Ellie May Chipley in the revival of Showboat in 1983 starring Donald O\'Connor. She repeated the role for the Houston Grand Opera\'s 1989 production and continued with them when the show was moved to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Continuing her legacy as Ellie, she also sang the part on the 1989 Grammy-nominated recording of the musical with Jerry Hadley, Frederica von Stade, and Teresa Stratas, conducted by John McGlinn on the Angel EMI label. Her other American stage credits include the title role in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Broadway and national tour) and Ado Annie in a national tour of Oklahoma! directed by William Hammerstein. In 1995, she joined the Broadway production of Les Misérables, where she played the role of Fantine.\n', '

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