Aileen Quinn

Aileen Quinn
Born	Aileen Marie Quinn (1971-06-28)June 28, 1971
Occupation	Actor, singer, dancer
Years active	1982–present
Awards	Best Actress - Youth in Film Awards
Website
www.aileenquinn.comAileen Quinn Facebook Aileen Quinn Twitter

Aileen Marie Quinn (born June 28, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for having played the title role in the film Annie (1982).

Biography

Quinn was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania, United States. Aileen was introduced to “show business” by her mother, Helenann, who was a TV, Radio, and Stage Singer/Actress when Aileen was young. Aileen begged to audition for a part in a local Community Theatre production of “Annie Get Your Gun” and won a part. She then did 3 or 4 additional shows in Community Theatre, which then led to getting an agent, a small role in the film “Paternity”, and commercial work in NYC. She began to appear in a string of television commercials including “Northern Bathroom Tissue”. While in NYC, she auditioned, and landed the role of the “swing orphan” (understudy to all of the orphans except Molly and Annie) in the Broadway production. After almost a year of a grueling audition process for the film “Annie”, and up against over 8,000 other competitors, Aileen received the title role in the 1982 film, ”Annie”, directed by John Huston. “Annie” earned Aileen 2 Golden Globe nominations and a win for “Best Actress” from the Youth In Film Awards.

While under contract for several years with Columbia Pictures to make other “Annie” sequels which never materialized, Aileen continued to perform lead roles in Regional Theatre in such shows as “The Wizard of Oz” (Dorothy), “Bye, Bye Birdie”(Kim), “Annie”(Annie), “Shennandoah”(Jenny) and “A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine”(Harpo). She also lent her voice to two animated cartoon specials which aired on National TV, “The Charmkins” and “The Wizard of Oz”. In addition to her “Annie” film album, which went double platinum, Aileen recorded a solo album titled “Bobby’s Girl”. Soon after, Aileen starred as Princess Zora in the classic fairy tale, “The Frog Prince”, which was released on videocassette and aired on the Disney Channel several times.

At the age of 18, Aileen decided to take some time off from acting and pursue higher education. She attended Drew University in Madison, NJ, and graduated with honors in 1994. She was a Language Major with a Minor in Political Science, and is a member of the Spanish Honors Society, Sigma Delta Pi, as she is fluent in Spanish. She spent 6 months with a family in Chile, South America, as part of an exchange program and considers it one of her life’s most rewarding experiences.

After graduation from Drew, Aileen once again took to the stage. In 1994, she appeared as “Bet” in “Oliver” at Papermill Playhouse. She then toured the United States for over five years with 3 Broadway National Tours: “Fiddler On the Roof” (Chava), “Peter Pan” (Tootles/Jane) and “Saturday Night Fever” (Annette). Her quest to study Shakespeare led her to London, where she appeared in “As You Like It” and “Twelfth Night” at LAMDA. Off-Broadway productions include “Dreamstuff” (Princess), “Creature” (Elizabeth) and “Yiddle With A Fiddle” (Yiddle). Regional Theatre credits up to the present include “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (Molly), “That Was Then” (World Premiere Play-April Gregory), and “Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Grandmother” (her Daughter).

Most recently, Aileen has appeared in a few small roles in Independent Films between 2006-2010, and just returned from portraying “Lily” in “Annie” at Theatre Aspen, which she enjoyed immensely. Currently, she has been writing some original material for a future Solo Album, and is the lead singer of an L.A. based Rockabilly band, “The Leapin' Lizards”.

Aileen is a proud member of all three actor’s unions, SAG, AFTRA, and Actor’s Equity, and has been an adjunct professor at Monmouth University in the Arts Department. It was here that she received her honorary doctorate in the Dramatic Arts in 2009.

Quinn also hosted Generation Gap, an interactive sitcom used to teach kids how to resolve conflicts. It was written and directed by filmmaker Edna Harris and aired on PBS in 2004. Quinn played a minor role in the 2009 film Multiple Sarcasms, starring Timothy Hutton and Mira Sorvino. Quinn is an adjunct theater professor at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.^{[citation needed]} (Monmouth University is coincidentally the same site of the film version of Annie, in which Quinn performed as the title character.) She was awarded an honorary degree from Monmouth University in 2009.

Quinn was also a Spanish, Drama and Dance teacher at Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Filmography

• The Wizard of Oz (1982), voice of Dorothy Gale
• Annie (1982), Annie Main Role
• Lights, Camera, Annie! (1982) (TV), herself
• The Charmkins (1983 TV movie), voice of Brown-Eyed Susan
• The Frog Prince (1986), Princess Zora
• Generation Gap (2004 TV movie), Host
• 30 (film) (2007), Maggie
• Multiple Sarcasms (2010), School Secretary

Discography

• Bobby's Girl released November 1982 / Columbia Records

External links

• Aileen Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.aileenquinn.com The Official Aileen Quinn website
• http://www.facebook.com/aileenmquinn Aileen Quinn on Facebook
• https://twitter.com/#!/aileenquinn Aileen Quinn on Twitter