Julienne Marie

Julienne Marie (née Julianne Marie Hendricks) is an American former actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage. In addition to her career in theater, Marie appeared in soap operas such as Our Private World (1965) and Ryan's Hope (1978).

Biography

Julianne Marie Hendricks was born to John Hendricks, a chemist, and his wife Ethel (née Gyurko) in Toledo, Ohio. Her mother was a stage mother who pushed her into performing at a very young age. She was named for her paternal grandmother, Julia Hendricks. She dropped her last name and changed Julianne to Julienne, using her first and middle names to create her stage name (Julienne Marie), as she thought the surname Hendricks sounded "too Midwestern". During her school years, she took piano lessons and participated in local pageants. She moved from Toledo to New York with her family where she started voice training at Juilliard.

Theatre

Marie made her Broadway debut in the original production of The King and I as the youngest of Yul Brynner's child brides. She received her first Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1959 for her portrayal of a young Indian maiden in Whoop-Up, which played 56 performances. Around 1960, she turned down a lead role in Lucille Ball's Wildcat to step into the original production of Gypsy as Louise, succeeding Sandra Church. Gypsy Rose Lee herself reportedly praised Julienne's performance. She performed 585 shows as Louise opposite Merman.