Brooke Elliott

Brooke Elliott (born November 16, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in musical theatre, including the US tours of Beauty and the Beast and Wicked, and the Broadway productions of Taboo and The Pirate Queen. She is known for her roles as Jane Bingum on the Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva (2009–2014) and as Dana Sue Sullivan in the Netflix romantic drama Sweet Magnolias (2020–present). Early life Elliott was born in Fridley, Minnesota, to Robert, a city manager, and Kathleen Elliott, on November 16, 1974. Elliott has one sister, Jamie Alexander, and one brother, Adam Elliott. Her parents have said that she began to sing when she was three years old, and footage exists of her at that age singing You Light Up My Life. Her family moved on several occasions, first to Blaine, Minnesota, and then out of state to Missouri, Oklahoma, and Illinois. The family settled in Riverview, Michigan, when Elliott was a junior in high school. She graduated from Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in 1993; she appeared in high school productions while there, including in Richard III and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Elliott went on to Western Michigan University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Performance in 1998. Elliott worked as a temp and a waitress, including working at a 1950s-themed restaurant where she had to dance on the tables every hour. Career For ten weeks in 1999, she was a member of Chicago-based stage combat theatre company Babes With Blades. As part of that role, she performed a scene from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Miracle Worker and Heathers. She left for her first professional theatre role as the Sugar Bowl in the US touring version of Beauty and the Beast. She also appeared as part of the cast in the North American tour of Wicked alongside Adam Lambert, whom she later supported when he appeared on American Idol.