Hello and welcome back to "Hey, It's That Voice!", the article that let's that you take a look at the voices behind your favorite characters in Steven Universe. And today, we have a fan favorite character taking the center spotlight! Today, we will look at the voice behind Yellow Diamond!
One of the four diamonds, Yellow Diamond has been welcomed by fans as a villain and as a piece to the bigger puzzle that encompasses all of Steven Universe. She has a hatred of almost everything around her, particularly Earth, organic life, and failures. But despite the brash and ruthless, Yellow Diamond does have more layers to her. In fact, she feels grief over loss and insists that while she feels sorrow for what happened to the Pink Diamond, she wishes to move on. There is a lot we still don't know about her, and I always hope for more Yellow Diamond information. But who is the voice of this colossus of a ruler? Why, that would be Patti LuPone!
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| The towering tyrant herself. |
Patti LuPone was born April 21, 1949 in Northport, New York on Long Island. She was born into a Catholic family of Italian descent, with her great-grandaunt being 19th century opera singer Adelina Patti, who is considered one of history's greatest sopranos in history. LuPone also has an older brother, Robert LuPone, who is known for his work as an actor, director, dancer, and original actor to portray Zach in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Along with her brother, both LuPone siblings attended Juilliard. Patti was part of the first graduating class of the school's drama program in 1972 (Group 1), with other actors such as Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers.
LuPone was one of the original members of The Acting Company and, from 1972 until 1976, she toured with the company and stared in numerous of productions. Some of these productions included The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Love’s Labours Lost, and The Way of the World. In 1973, LuPone made her Broadway debut with The Three Sisters, portraying Irina.
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| LuPone (center) portraying Eva Perón in Evita, 1979. |
Two years later in 1975, LuPone earned her Tony Award nomination for her work in the musical The Robber Bridegroom. Four years later, LuPone won her first Tony Award for her Broadway performance in Evita, based upon the life of Eva Perón. It should be noted that while despite all of the success of Evita, the production was not an enjoyable experience.
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| LuPone as Fantine in Les Misérables, 1985. |
In 1985, LuPone joined the original London production of Les Misérables as Fantine. Both this role and her portrayal of Moll in The Cradle Will Rock earned her the Laurence Oliver Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She returned to Broadway in 1987 as Reno Sweeny in the musical Anything Goes, where she received her third Tony nomination.
LuPone returned one again to London to work in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. While she was nominated yet again for the Laurence Oliver Award for Best Actress in a Musical, her time on the show was difficult and she was fired and replaced by Glenn Close who went to star in the show in Los Angeles and Broadway. Two years later, LuPone debuted her one-woman show Patti LuPone on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where she was praised for her performance and received the Outer Critics Circle Award.
Among the numerous productions that LuPone has starred in, she has continued to be nominated for the highly-sought-after Tony Award. These nominations include her second time portraying Mrs. Lovett in Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2005, Gypsy in 2008 (winning the award that year), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown in 2008, and War Paint in 2017.
Other productions that Patti LuPone has take part of over the years include Working, The Woods, Edmond, Oliver!, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Pal Joey, Master Class, Noises Off, Passion, Can-Can, Candide, Sunday in the Park with George, Regina, Anyone Can Whistle, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, and The Anarchist.
As for the silver screen, LuPone has starred in a few roles that many still remember. These films include King of the Gypsies, 1941, Fighting Back, Witness, Driving Miss Daisy, Family Prayers, The 24 Hour Woman, Summer of Sam, State and Main, Heist, City by the Sea, Parker, and most recently The Comedian.
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| Spalding (Denis O'Hare) and Joan Ramsey (LuPone) in American Horror Story: Coven. |
And finally, Patti LuPone has also graced the small screen as well. Her first television appearance was on The Time of Your Life, a 1976 television film. A little over a decade later, she would return to television for two more films; Cowboy Joe and LBJ: The Early Years. In 1989, LuPone starred as Elizabeth "Libby" Thatcher in Life Goes On (she also performed the opening to the series, a cover of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"). She continued to star on television with other appearances such as The Water Engine, Frasier (two different times), Remember WENN, Law & Order, Encore! Encore!, Touched by an Angel, Monday Night Mayhem, In-Laws, Oz, Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Glee, Army Wives, American Horror Story: Coven, Girls, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
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| Joan Clayton (LuPone) in Penny Dreadful. |
Most notably, LuPone has been featured in the third season of Penny Dreadful, where she stars as Joan Clayton.
Over her career, LuPone has been nominated and has also won numerous awards. A full list of said awards and nominations can be found here. Also, if you wish to learn more about Patti LuPone, do give her personal website a visit.
And that will do it for this edition of "Hey, It's That Voice!" Join me next time when we look at the voice of another member of the Diamond Authority, one that happens to be blue.
