Katie Brayben (born 3 September) is an English actress and musician who has performed in stage plays, television and musicals and also as a singer and songwriter with her own music. She is presently best known for her portrayal of the title role of Carole King in the London production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, for which she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards. She won her second Olivier award in the same category at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards for her performance as the title role in Tammy Faye.
Biography Brayben is an English actress, singer and musician who also performs as an original songwriter playing piano and guitar. Born Katie Burke, her parents being London blues-based performers Mick (Mike) Burke and Frances (Fran) McGillivray, she was raised in a musical household in the London borough of Lewisham; her sister Jo Burke is also a folk music performer (singer and violinist). She studied at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2003. In an interview, she has stated that she chose to use a different surname than her birth name for her professional career to avoid potential confusion with the already established London born actress Kathy Burke.
She made her West End debut when she took over the lead role of Sophie in the 10th anniversary production of Mamma Mia! and later starred opposite Matt Smith in the American Psycho musical. In 2014 she joined the production of Mike Bartlett's King Charles III playing Princess Diana, and moved with the show when it transferred from the Almeida Theatre to the West End. In 2015 when that show moved to Broadway, she took on the title role of Carole King in the London production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Her performance won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
2022 saw Katie Brayben re-team with American Psycho and King Charles III director Rupert Goold at the Almeida for the new biographic stage musical Tammy Faye. With Brayben in the title role of the queer icon, the show explored her life with lyrics by Jake Shears and music by Sir Elton John. The production would go on to receive four nominations at this year's Laurence Olivier Awards, where Katie would receive her second Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Brayben reprised the role for the show's short-lived transfer to Broadway in 2024.
In the summer of 2025, she revisited her role in Girl from the North Country during a limited engagement run at the The Old Vic. She played the Baker's Wife in the Bridge Theatre's production of Into the Woods later that year, which would earn her another Olivier nomination for Best Actress.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2015 Vera Sally Episode - "Changing Tides"2017 Doctor Who Ellie Episode - "Oxygen" King Charles III Diana, Princess of Wales TV movie2019 Luther Penny Leyton 2 Episodes A Serial Killer's Guide to Life Lou Farnt also Associate Producer 2021, 2025 The Wheel of Time Latra Posae Decume 2 episodes 2022 Miss Scarlet and The Duke Alice Lee Episode - "Pandora's Box" 2023 Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Lady Vivian Ledger 2 episodes
Stage Year Title RoleNotes 2005 Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others Lyric Hammersmith 2006-2007 Mamma Mia! Sophie UK Tour 2009 Mamma Mia (10th Anniversary) Sophie West End 2011 Company April Southwark Playhouse 2012 Ragtime Evelyn Nesbitt Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 2013–14 American Psycho Courtney Lawrence Almeida Theatre2014 King Charles III Diana, Princess of Wales Almeida Theatre / West End 2015 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Carole King Aldwych Theatre 2015 The Iliad Almeida Theatre 2016 My Mother Said I Never Should Jackie St. James Theatre 2016 The Spoils Sarah Trafalgar Studios 2018 A Walk on the Moon Pearl Kantrowitz American Conservatory Theater 2018 Honour Claudia The Park Theatre2019 Girl from the North Country Elizabeth Laine Gielgud Theatre2020Nine Lessons and Carols: stories for a long winter Almeida Theatre2022Tammy FayeTammy FayeAlmeida Theatre2024Palace Theatre2025 Girl from the North Country Elizabeth Laine The Old Vic 2025-26 Into the Woods The Baker's Wife Bridge Theatre
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