A lithe, attractive blonde, Emily Skinner shot to overnight stardom as half of the conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton in the fictionalized Broadway musical "Side Show" (1997). The Virginia native attended Carnegie-Mellon University and by 1994 found herself working in NYC in the debut of the now annual staging of "A Christmas Carol". With the year, she was featured in the ensemble of the musical version of "Elmer Gantry" staged at Washington, DC's Ford's Theatre. Skinner made her official Broadway debut (billed as Emily Scott Skinner) in the ensemble of "Jekyll & Hyde" and as understudy to the show's two leading roles. She wasn't with the production long, however, because she was tapped to co-star as Daisy Hilton in "Side Show", a project she had been involved with for some two and a half years since its initial workshop. She and Ripley formed a flawless duo; with makeup, they looked exactly alike. Together they delivered the musical's big numbers, including the lilting "Who Will Love Me as I Am?" and the penultimate "I Will Never Leave You". In a rare instance, the Tony Award nominating committee jointly nominated the two woman as Leading Actress in a Musical, although the award went to Natasha Richardson. Skinner and Ripley made such a terrific team they went on to record two albums together, "Duets" (1998) and "Unsuspecting Hearts" (1999). They also jointly appeared in the award-winning musical "James Joyce's The Dead" Off-Broadway in the fall of 1999 and on Broadway in early 2000. Later that year, each woman got to co-star in anticipated musicals, Ripley in the revival of "The Rocky Horror Show" and Skinner in "The Full Monty", in which she got to shine as a greedy wife of a millworker. Skinner also released her first solo album that year.
Profession(s):
Actor, singer, law firm receptionist, saleswoman (Macy's children's department), customer service representative (Visa)
Sometimes Credited As:
Emily Scott Skinner
Education
Richmond Community High School Richmond, Virginia
Carnegie-Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania graduated
2002 Portrayed Gussie in the Kennedy Center staging of "Merrily We Roll Along"; also cast as Jenny in "Company", which featured Alice Ripley
2000 Played Vicki Nichols in the stage musical adaptation of "The Full Monty"; originated role at San Diego's Old Globe and reprised it when production transferred to Broadway
1999 Appeared in the revised version of the stage musical "Working" at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut
1999 Reteamed with Alice Ripley in "James Joyce's The Dead"; originated role Off-Broadway and recreated it when production was remounted on Broadway in 2000
1997 Understudied leading roles in the Broadway musical "Jekyll & Hyde"; also featured in the show's ensemble; credited as Emily Scott Skinner
1997 Co-starred with Alice Ripley as the conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton in "Side Show"; shared a joint Tony nomination as Lead Actress in a Musical
1997 Sang on the soundtrack for the Fox animated musical "Anastasia"
1996 Initially teamed with Alice Ripley in workshop of "Side Show"
1995 Had supporting role in the musical version of "Elmer Gantry" presented at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC
1995 First played Daisy Hilton in a staged reading of "Side Show"
1994 NYC stage debut in "A Christmas Carol", performed at the theater at Madison Square Garden
Raised in the Richmond, Virginia, area
