Samantha Barks

Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a Manx actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008. She has released three studio albums: Looking in Your Eyes (2007), Samantha Barks (2016), and Into the Unknown (2021), and made her film debut as Éponine in the Tom Hooper-directed Les Misérables in 2012. Her performance in the film won her the Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer and a shared National Board of Review Award with the film's cast. Barks starred opposite Jonathan Bailey in the Disney Channel musical-comedy Groove High (2012–2013) and again, in the London revival of the musical The Last Five Years in 2016. In 2018, she originated the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman: The Musical on Broadway. Since 2021, she has played Elsa in the West End production of Frozen but is due to go on maternity leave on 23 August 2023. Early life Barks was born and raised in Laxey on the Isle of Man. Her mother is from Malahide, Ireland. Barks attended Laxey Primary School and St Ninian's High School, Douglas. When she was 16, Barks moved to London by herself to complete her A levels at the Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in Chiswick. Her first non-industry job was working at River Island. Barks danced from the age of three, training in ballet, modern and tap with Dancers Barre, then Stagecoach Isle of Man, Theatrix, Stage One Drama School and the Manx Ballet Company.