Nicole Scherzinger emerged victorious in the most closely watched race of the 2025 Tony Awards on Sunday night, winning Best Actress in a Musical for her powerhouse portrayal of Norma Desmond in the revival of “Sunset Boulevard.”
The former Pussycat Dolls member beat out fellow contenders Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Jasmine Amy Rogers and Jennifer Simard for the honor. This is her Broadway debut.
“I’m so honored to be recognized alongside these exceptional warrior women in this category. I want to thank all of you all so much for making this little Hawaiian, Ukrainian Filipino girl’s dream come true,” Scherzinger said in her acceptance speech, becoming visibly emotional. “I always felt like I didn’t belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong and I have come home at last.”
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This season’s Best Actress in a Musical race was a nail-biter for theater fans, with Scherzinger and McDonald ― a six-time Tony winner who is currently starring in the acclaimed revival of “Gypsy” ― as its presumed front-runners.
Both actors’ performances notably depart from their predecessors. Scherzinger’s portrayal of silent screen star Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” is sexier and more sinister than those of Glenn Close and Patti LuPone, who respectively starred in the original Broadway and London productions in the early 1990s.
McDonald, meanwhile, is the first Black actor to play Momma Rose on Broadway since the original production of “Gypsy” was staged in 1959. Vocally, her soprano deviates from the brassy belt long associated with the role.
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The Tonys race came under more intense scrutiny last month after The New Yorker published a bombshell profile of LuPone in which she took aim at both McDonald and another Black actor, Kecia Lewis.
Though LuPone’s harshest comments were leveled at Lewis, she alluded to what the New Yorker described as a “long-ago rift” with McDonald. LuPone ― who won a Tony for playing Momma Rose in the 2008 Broadway production of “Gypsy” ― also seemingly shaded McDonald’s performance with a snide remark about the weather.
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