Louisville native, Broadway star wins first Tony Award for debut musical performance
A Louisville native was a big winner at the 2025 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday night.
Nicole Scherzinger, who grew up in Louisville and starred as Norma Desmond in the Broadway revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” won the Tony Award for best performance by a leading actress in a musical. It was Scherzinger’s debut role in a Broadway musical after years in the entertainment industry.
Other nominees for the award were Megan Hilty (“Death Becomes Her”), Audra McDonald (“Gypsy”), Jasmine Amy Rogers (“BOOP! The Musical”) and Jennifer Simard (“Death Becomes Her”), according to People.com.
“Growing up, 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,” Scherzinger said in her acceptance speech, according to People.com.
“So if there is anyone who feels like they don’t belong or your time hasn’t come, don’t give up. Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and light more than ever. This is a testament that love always wins.”
Scherzinger also impressed the audience with a solo performance from the musical “As If We Never Said Goodbye.” Glenn Close, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Norma Desmond in the original 1994 Broadway production, introduced Scherzinger before her performance.
During the performance, Scherzinger donned a black dress while barefoot on a smoky stage. The song earned a standing ovation from the crowd, including the music writer for the play, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Scherzinger was born in Honolulu but raised in Louisville, according to her IMDb profile. She previously performed in many plays at The Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Scherzinger previously sang with several groups, including Days of the New, Eden’s Crush and, most notably, The Pussycat Dolls.
Scherzinger told Time magazine she related to her character from “Sunset Boulevard,” because of her constant quest for stardom as a singer.
The musical, about the Oscar-winning 1950 Billy Wilder film of the same name, was Scherzinger’s Broadway debut. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards and also won best revival of a musical and best lighting design.
“A lot of people don’t realize I grew up a lover of theater and musical theater and I went to a youth performing arts high school. So this was my safe space that I found my kind, as I call it, where I felt like I belonged,” Scherzinger told CBS News.
Another Kentucky native, George Clooney, was nominated for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play.
He plays the lead role in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” an historical drama Clooney wrote with Grant Heslov. Clooney plays the role of Edward R. Murrow, the veteran CBS journalist who clashed with Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
Clooney lost to “Oh, Mary!” star Cole Escola, who played the lead role of Mary Todd Lincoln, who grew up in Lexington.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 11:25 AM.
