Vivian Reed

Vivian Reed (born June 6, 1945) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was trained as a classical vocalist at the Juilliard School and originally planned on pursuing a career as an opera singer. Her path was reoriented into a career in popular music after she began performing at Pauline's Interlude Cafe in Harlem while a college student. Under the guidance of Honi Coles and Bobby Schiffman, the latter the owner of the Apollo Theatre, she became an R & B and Soul music performer under contract with Epic Records from 1968 to 1971. She performed frequently at the Apollo from 1966 into the mid-1970s. She also recorded two albums with United Artists Records in the 1970s.

In 1972 Reed made her theatrical stage debut in the short lived Broadway revue That's Entertainment. She returned to Broadway soon after in Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope; replacing Micki Grant for six weeks in the original New York production. She would later appear in numerous productions of this show both in the United States and abroad in stagings spanning a twenty-five year period. In 1975 she originated the roles of Marsha and Young Irene in the musical Bubbling Brown Sugar, the work with which she is mostly closely identified. She was nominated for a Tony Award for this role, and won numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. In addition to appearing in the Broadway production of Bubbling Brown Sugar, she also appeared in both national and two European tours of the musical.

In 1980 Reed made her film debut in Headin' for Broadway. In the 1980s she worked and lived mainly in Europe and maintained an apartment in Paris. She formed a partnership with French theatre impresario and fashion designer Pierre Cardin, and recorded albums on the French record label Carrere Records. She also starred in several French language films, including portraying Josephine Baker in La Rumba (1987). In 1989 she returned to the United States where she was initially active in theaters in Florida. In 1992 she returned to Broadway as the Enchantress in The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club; garnering a second Tony Award nomination for her performance. In 1994 she portrayed Queenie in the Toronto cast of Hal Prince's celebrated revival of Show Boat. In 1999 she portrayed the mother of Audra McDonald's character in the Broadway production of Marie Christine.

Reed has remained active in Off-Broadway and Regional theatre productions. She has also worked frequently as a night club and cabaret singer throughout her career, and has also performed at jazz festivals and with orchestras and other ensembles as a concert artist. Having previously taught singing at the Berklee College of Music, she currently works on the voice faculty at Marymount Manhattan College. She was awarded the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets.