Danielle Wade

Wade was raised in LaSalle, Ontario.[3] She is the oldest of three daughters born to Jodi and Doug Wade.[3] Growing up, Wade was a figure skater. She graduated from Sandwich Secondary School, and attended the University of Windsor where she pursued a BFA in musical theatre.[4][5] As a student, she starred as Elle Woods in a local production of Legally Blonde.[5][1] However, Wade dropped out following her second year after she won Over the Rainbow.[4]

In 2012, Wade auditioned for the Canadian reality television series, Over the Rainbow, which was based on the 2010 BBC series of the same name. After being named as one of the top ten finalists, Wade never placed in the bottom 2 throughout the competition.[6] Andrew Lloyd Webber referred to Wade as “an extraordinary talent".[7] On November 4, 2012, Wade was named the winner of Over the Rainbow.[1]

As a result of winning Over the Rainbow, Wade starred as Dorothy Gale in the North American premiere of Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.[1] The musical opened at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto on December 20, 2012, and played until August 18, 2013. Wade then reprised her role as Dorothy for the subsequent North American tour, which opened on September 10, 2013, and concluded on June 29, 2014.[2] Overall, Wade has performed as Dorothy approximately 500 times.[7]

In 2014, Wade starred as Cinderella in Cinderella, a Ross Petty family holiday pantomime production.[8]

Between 2015 and 2017, Wade appeared in five Drayton Entertainment musical productions. In 2015, Wade played Anne Shirley in their production of Anne of Green Gables.[9] In 2016, she starred as Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia, and then as Ariel Moore in Footloose.[10][11] In 2017, she played the Narrator in Drayton Entertainment's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.[12] Later in 2017, she starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.[13]

In 2018, Wade starred as Marian Paroo in the Stratford Festival production of The Music Man.[14]

Wade made her Broadway debut in Mean Girls, a musical based on the Tina Fey movie.[15] The musical opened at the August Wilson Theatre in April 2018, with Wade understudying the lead roles of Cady Heron and Janis Sarkisian. In August 2019, it was announced that Wade would star as Cady Heron in the first North American tour of Mean Girls.[16] She continued in the role when performances resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

In May 2023, it was announced that Wade would star alongside Corbin Bleu in the world premiere production of Summer Stock, based on the 1950 film of the same name.[18] The musical, produced by Goodspeed Musicals, will play between July 7 and August 27, 2023.[18]

On May 1, 2023, Wade married musical theatre actor Will Branner in Goldsboro, North Carolina.[19]

• Danielle Wade at IMDb