Karen Olivo

Olivo began her professional career in 1997 when she joined the original Broadway production of Rent. She joined as a replacement swing, also understudying the roles of Mimi and Maureen. The following year she joined the first national tour of Rent, dubbed the "Angel Tour," as a replacement swing once again. In late 1998, Olvio began playing Mimi on the tour, which she did until she left the show in January 1999. She moved back to New York City in 1999,[4] but did not receive any roles outside of a small part in As the World Turns before joining the regional try-out of the musical Brooklyn in 2003.[6][7] Before Brooklyn transferred to Broadway the following Fall, Olivo took part of a regional staging of Children of Eden and filmed guest roles for All My Children and Law & Order.[8] The musical Brooklyn open on Broadway in October 2004 and closed in June 2005.[9] Following its closure, Olivo joined the cast of the Brazilian-themed off-Broadway musical Miracle Brothers, which closed in October 2005.[10] The following year she had small roles in NBC's Conviction and the independent film Adrift in Manhattan, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.

In 2008, In the Heights opened on Broadway. Olivo starred as Vanessa, opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In 2009, Olivo received a Tony Award for her performance as Anita in the Broadway revival of West Side Story.[11] She was also nominated for both a Drama Desk and an Outer Critic's Circle Award for her critically acclaimed performance as Anita. She earned her second Astaire Award nomination for Best Female Dancer for her performance in West Side Story, after previously winning the same award in 2008 for her performance in In the Heights. She was contracted with West Side Story at the Palace through 2010.[12] During the May 8, 2010 matinee performance of West Side Story, Olivo broke her foot.[13] Anita standby Natalie Cortez performed the role until the show's closure.[14]

Olivo then took part in the world premiere of By The Way, Meet Vera Stark at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, the play "draws upon the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood."[15]

Olivo had a recurring role in The Good Wife on CBS. She played fabulously wealthy law student Giada Cabrini, a potential love interest of firm partner Will Gardner (Josh Charles). Olivo was a series regular in the second season of NBC's Harry's Law, playing "hot shot lawyer" Cassie Reynolds hired by Kathy Bates' character.[16]

Olivo also appeared as Isabelle Perez, a woman who was unknowingly sterilized in the Law & Order episode "Birthright." She also appears in the spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Jennifer Benitez in an episode titled "Loophole". She later appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Yelina Muñoz in an episode titled “October Sunrise”.

Olivo has had several roles in movies, including Make Yourself at Home, The New Twenty, Shanghai Hotel, and The Orphan Killer.

On March 18, 2013, Olivo announced on her website she was taking a break from acting, saying "with this knowledge I start a new chapter. I leave behind the actor and I start learning how to be me."[17][18][19] During this period she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she taught classes for the UW-Madison theater department and became involved in the local theater scene, which included opening a private studio to coach young performers.[20]

She returned to professional acting the following year with New York City Center's Encores! production of the Jonathan Larson musical tick, tick... BOOM! alongside fellow Hamilton alumni Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. in June 2014 Off-Broadway.[21][22]

On July 13, 2016, it was announced that Olivo would star as Angelica Schuyler in the Chicago production of Hamilton.[23] She was part of the cast from October 19, 2016 until August 6, 2017. She stated that she intended to pursue teaching after leaving the production, stating that "I'm leaving the spotlight to make sure others find theirs". In February 2018, Olivo played Florence Vassy in the Kennedy Center's revival of the musical Chess.

On July 25, 2019, Olivo starred in the premiere of the Broadway production of "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" in New York City. She continued to perform her role in the show at the Al Hirschfeld Theater for an open-ended run.[24] On October 15, 2020, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.[25]