Shani Wallis


Shani Wallis is an English retired actress and singer, who has worked in theatre, film, and television in both her native United Kingdom and in the United States. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she is known for her roles in the West End and Broadway and for the role of Nancy in the 1968 Oscar-winning film musical Oliver!
Writer and critic Kenneth Tynan has described her as "the English Judy Garland".

Biography

Wallis was born in Tottenham, London, and made her first stage appearance at the age of four. She studied ballet and dance, before gaining a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
She made her theatrical debut in a lead role as young princess Maria in Call Me Madam at the London Coliseum in March 1952. Wallis sprang to global fame when appearing as Nancy in the Oscar-winning musical film Oliver! in 1968, starring alongside Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes, Ron Moody as Fagin, Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger, and Mark Lester as Oliver. Afterwards, Wallis received an offer to star in the television series The Brady Bunch, but turned it down because she wanted to do more musicals.
Wallis is a naturalised citizen of the United States, where she has lived for more than 40 years. She married her agent, Bernie Rich, on 13 September 1968; the couple have one daughter and two granddaughters. Wallis is a patron of the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

Selected credits

Film