Carol Lawrence

Carol Lawrence (born Carolina Maria Laraia; September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria on Broadway in the musical West Side Story (1957), receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She appeared at The Muny, St. Louis, in several musicals, including Funny Girl. She also appeared in many television dramas, including Rawhide and Murder She Wrote. She was married to fellow performer Robert Goulet. Born Carolina Maria Laraia on September 5, 1932, in Melrose Park, Illinois, her parents were of Italian ancestry. Her father was born in Trivigno, in the province of Potenza, and her maternal family came from the same town. Laraia graduated from Proviso Township High School, in Maywood, Illinois. She spent one year at Northwestern University and then left to pursue her career. Lawrence made her Broadway debut in 1952 in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952. She achieved success in the role of Maria in the original Broadway production of West Side Story in 1957, for which she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical nomination, losing to Barbara Cook (The Music Man). She played the role for two years, and after an appearance in the short-lived show Saratoga in 1959 she returned to West Side Story for its 1960 season. Other Broadway successes were Subways Are for Sleeping, I Do! I Do! (replacement "She/Agnes", 1967), and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992–93, replacement Spider Woman/Aurora).