Maria Friedman

Maria Friedman (née Freedman; born 19 March 1960) is a Swiss-born British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre. She is a seven-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, winning three times for acting. Her first win was for her 1994 one-woman show, By Special Arrangement. She twice won as Best Actress in a Musical—for Fosca in the original London production of Passion (1997), and for Mother in the original London production of Ragtime (2004). Friedman played the narrator in the 1999 straight to video version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She played Elaine Peacock in the British television series EastEnders from 2014 to 2017. In 2023 the role was recas…