Joanna Ampil

Joanna Ampil (born June 1, 1975), is an awarded musical theatre and film actress from the Philippines. Ampil has performed in several West End musicals, including Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar and Avenue Q, and she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables in London until 21 June 2008. She was also invited by Sir Cameron Mackintosh to perform the role of Kim in the Australian premiere in Sydney of Miss Saigon, and in 2011 she performed the main role as Thanh in the showcase performance of the new musical The Real Love. Her breakthrough role as Candida in the 2017 film adaptation of Ang Larawan the Musical (in itself adopted from A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino) won her the Best Actress Award at the 43rd Metro Manila Film Festival Ampil is also heard on several cast recordings, for example the Jesus Christ Superstar (1996 London Cast) recording as Mary Magdalene and on the Miss Saigon: Complete Symphonic Recording as Kim. Ampil has released two solo albums, and all the proceeds of these albums are donated to the Sun and Moon Home for Children in Manila, initiated by Miss Saigon composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. Her first album, Joanna Ampil was recorded in Abbey Road Studios in London and her second, Try Love, in the Philippines. She was also a stage play actress for The Sound of Music in Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila as Maria from 2011–2012. In addition to her stage work, Ampil has done a few on-screen roles such as in One Day and on several episodes of Broken News. In 2013–2014, she was on tour with Cats as Grizabella. The first international production of Waitress, produced by Atlantis Theatrical, debuted in November 2018 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Manila featuring Joanna Ampil as Jenna.