Connie Fisher (born 17 June 1983) is a British actress and singer, who won the BBC One talent contest, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Fisher was delighted to be named Maria: "I feel on top of the world, thanks very much. I won't let you down. Every night will be an opening night. Thanks for making my dreams come true." On 15 November 2006, she opened to excellent reviews in the part of Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music in the West End, London on a six-month contract, which was extended until 23 February 2008. On 28 September 2008, she completed her run as Sonia in They're Playing Our Song at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. She will resume the role of Maria in The Sound of Music UK tour starting in July 2009.

Biography

Personal life
Fisher was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and is daughter of a British Army Royal Corps of Signals Major. Fisher lived in Dorset, England until the age of six, when she moved to a village near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. She attended Hayscastle Junior School, and then went on to Sir Thomas Picton School. She is a fluent Welsh speaker and during the final weeks of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? she recorded several interview pieces for Radio Cymru.

During her teenage years she was a member of Haverfordwest Operatic Society where she performed in The Pirates of Penzance and played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. She was also a member of The Torch Youth Theatre where she performed in George Buchner's play Woyzek. She successfully became a member of National Youth Music Theatre (1999-2002), where she played Lady of the Lake in the UK Tour of Pendragon, and played the lead role, Morgan Le Fay, when the production toured Japan in 2001. From an early age Fisher was a member of Côr Newyddion Da (English translation - "Good News Choir"), which introduced her to the Eisteddfodic field and encouraged her to perform as a soloist. She competed annually in the Urdd Gobaith Cymru, National and International Eisteddfods. In 2002 Fisher won the Wilbert Lloyd Roberts Scholarship in the National Eisteddfod "Songs from the Shows" competition and the Milford and West Wales Mercury talent competition.

Fisher won a full scholarship to the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 2005 with a First Class BA Hons degree in Musical Theatre, as well as the Gyearbuor Asante prize for the highest score. At Mountview she performed in Annie Get Your Gun, A…my name is Alice, Jerry’s Girls and played Julie Jordan in Carousel.

Career
Fisher has made television appearances on Jane McDonald's Star for a Night when she was sixteen; Owen Money’s Just Up Your Street, and BBC Children in Need. She has also recorded a Welsh song called Curiad Calon (Heartbeat) which was released on the compilation album Cân i Gymru (A Song for Wales). She also released a charity single for the Noah's Ark Appeal entitled 'Eyes of a Child'.

Fisher's first professional theatre appearance was at Milford Haven Torch Theatre, Christmas 2005, where she played Princess Samina in the pantomimeAladdin. She then took the £1,000 cash prize and the Gower Trophy in the final of the 2006 Welsh Musical Theatre Young Singer of the Year Competition, held at Swansea Grand Theatre.

Before being cast as Maria, she worked in media telesales, whilst auditioning for several West End parts – often getting down to the final two but never getting the part. Fisher cites Julie Andrews and Ruthie Henshall as her musical theatre role models. She claims to be a bit of a tomboy, and says that as an only child, she is very independent.

In early March 2007, she was ordered by her doctor to take two weeks' rest from The Sound of Music, after straining her vocal cords singing through a cold. On her return to the show, it was announced that Fisher would be reducing her workload to six shows a week, with Maria being played in the Monday evening and Wednesday matinee shows by Aoife Mulholland, one of the runners-up in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?.

On 1 July 2007, Fisher performed alongside artists including Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, Donny Osmond and Andrea Bocelli in Lloyd Webber's segment of the Concert for Diana at London's Wembley Stadium in front of 63,000 people. She also appeared at Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Festival during the August Bank Holiday weekend, 2007.

In October 2007, she won the 2007 lastminute.com People's Choice Theatre Award for Favourite Theatre Actress.

On Christmas Eve 2007 Fisher performed with Lee Mead and some of the other Maria and Any Dream finalists in a BBC special 'festive' reunion show called When Joseph met Maria! - celebrating both the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber BBC shows - it was recorded earlier on Dec 2nd 2007. The BBC show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, featuring Fisher, recently won a prestigious international Emmy Award in New York (2007) for best non-scripted entertainment.

Fisher ended her run as Maria on 23 February 2008 and was replaced by Summer Strallen. It was rumoured that after her contract as Maria came to an end that she would play the lead in a Lloyd-Webber revival of Funny Girl. Fisher had been due to embark on an Andrew Lloyd Webber-sponsored solo concert tour of several cities in the UK, however the tour was cancelled on 13 February 2008 due to poor ticket sales. Also on 13 February 2008, it was announced that the planned Simply Bernstein concert celebrating the work of composer Leonard Bernstein, which Fisher was part of, had been cancelled. The event was due to run for five performances from 4 to 6 April 2008 at Cadogan Hall.

In 2008 Fisher co-starred with Alistair McGowan in a revival of the musical They're Playing Our Song at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Also, in November Fisher appeared in concerts at Truro Cathedral and at the Great Fosters Hotel in Surrey

On the 11th December 2008 Fisher appeared in The Christmas Sparkler Concert at The Royal Festival Hall London and sang the Welsh lullaby "Suo Gan", but she had to pull out of the second song, which was supposed to be a duet of "O Holy Night" with Jonathan Ansell, as she had to go to The London Palladium to introduce an act for The Royal Variety Performance.

Also in December 2008, Fisher appeared with her mother in an episode of Bargain Hunt, Famous Finds. She also starred in her first TV drama. Caught In A Trap aired on ITV1 on 26th December - in it she plays a young woman with an Elvis Presley obsession. Her second solo album, Secret Love, is due to be released on 23 February, 2009.

It was announced on 25th November that Fisher is to return to the role of Maria for the UK touring production of The Sound of Music.