Carol Lawrence (born September 5 1932, Melrose Park, Illinois) is a musical theater actress, who has also made many appearances on film and television (including Murder She Wrote, Saved by the Bell as well as the daytime serial General Hospital).

Born as Carolina Maria LaRaia, Carol Lawrence made her Broadway debut in 1952. She achieved outstanding success in the role of Maria in the original Broadway production of West Side Story in 1957. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for this role. She played the role for two years, and after an appearance in the show Saratoga returned to West Side Story for its 1960 season. Among her other Broadway successes was Kiss of the Spider Woman from 1993 until 1995.

She has played several roles at The Muny in St. Louis which is the oldest and largest outdoor theater in the U.S., including Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1975), Charity in Sweet Charity (1977), and Lucille Early in No, No, Nanette (1990).

Singer-actress Carol Lawrence earned widespread stardom quite early in her singing career with the immortal role of Maria in the Broadway musical "West Side Story." However, that success would not parlay into film stardom for Carol as established star Natalie Wood, in spite of the fact that she would need to be vocally dubbed by Marni Nixon, had the requisite clout to play Maria in the classic 1961 film version. Carol, however, endured as a celebrity and marched on from Broadway stage to Broadway stage to the tune of "Subways Are for Sleeping," "Saratoga," "I Do! I Do!" and "Kiss of the Spiderwoman." The dark, vivid beauty also stayed alive in clubs, cabarets, concerts and summer stock stages opposite then-husband, singer Robert Goulet, as a highly popular couple in the 60s. Born Carolina Maria Laraia in 1932, the Chicago-born hopeful started out as a singer/dancer in the chorus lines and made her Broadway debut with the "New Faces of 1952." Though Carol never matched the success brought on by her "West Side Story" role, she managed quite well with numerous TV guest spots and commercials that has welcomed her warm, inviting presence and graceful style. At age 70+, she continues to freshen up her durable talents, most recently on stage in "Amy's View" and the title role of "Mame." Carol has kept busy over the years as a talk show host and author, publishing her biography in 1990 and recently putting out a cook book.

Carol Lawrence defines the term "Triple Crown". An actress, singer and dancer of the first magnitude, Ms. Lawrence created the role of "Maria" in the Leonard Bernstein/Jerome Robbins Broadway classic, "West Side Story". Miss Lawrence went on to star in numerous other Broadway productions including: "Saratoga", "Subways Are For Sleeping", "Nightlife", "I Do, I Do", and "Kiss Of The Spiderwoman". Lawrence has also starred in national tours of "Funny Girl", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", "The Sound Of Music", "Sweet Charity", "No, No, Nanette", "Woman Of The Year", and "Sugar Babies". It is easy to see why this Italian girl from Melrose Park, Illinois is well deserving of her star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame; the first recipient ever in the category of "Live Theatre". Carol received rave revues in Los Angeles productions of "Do I Hear A Waltz?," "Follies," and "Amy's View," for which she received The Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. Miss Lawrence also broke box office records for her stellar performance in the title role of "Mame". Carol recently headlined both the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, and the newly created Florida Follies. As a regular on ABC's General Hospital, Ms. Lawrence played the loving Italian matriarch "Angela Eckart", and on "Touched by an Angel", gave a heartwarming portrayal of a woman facing death. Carol has also played leading roles on "The Commish", a dramatic Diva on "Murder She Wrote". Other TV appearances include countless musical variety shows, guest roles on "Sex And The City", "Lois and Clark", "Murder One", "The Championship Season", "Matt Houston", "Hotel", "Love Boat", and "Simon & Simon, just to name a few. She appeared most recently, as a recurring character on "Flipper", shot in Australia. For three years, Carol hosted her own biweekly TV magazine/talk show, "The Carol Lawrence Show", which she wrote and produced for the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The show's theme song, "In His Spotlight", set the stage for spotlighting celebrities, cooking, nutrition, fashion, exercise, children, music, and other topics. By hosting five shows on the popular series "Chef du Jour" for the Food Network, Carol was able to share the secret recipes for her cookbook, "I Remember Pasta", a Harvest House publication. In 1998, Carol set a new record for Cookbook sales on the Home Shopping Network. Hand in hand with her cookbook is Carol's interest in fitness, nutrition, health and exercise. Her innovative aerobic/ dancercise video, "Broadway Body Workout" is set to Broadway music, and reflects her love of dance and fitness. Carol's autobiography entitled "Carol Lawrence, The Backstage Story", was released by McGraw-Hill. Carol has performed with all the major symphonies throughout the United States and Canada and also spanned the globe entertaining on all the major cruise lines. Her concert act, a multimedia biographical show backed by a 12-piece orchestra, continues to dazzle crowds everywhere. Carol has received both Tony and Grammy Award nominations and ovations, as well as numerous humanitarian awards including City of Hope's "Woman of the Year", and "The Spirit of Life Award". And of course, Carol's award-winning, sassy and sophisticated television commercials for General Foods' International Coffees are classic examples that the name Carol Lawrence is synonymous with good taste.