In 1989, eight-year-old Caissie Levy sat in a Toronto theater with her parents and two older brothers watching a Mirvish production of Les Misérables. She knew instantly. That was the job. That was the life.
Thirty-seven years later, on June 7, 2026, she walked to the Radio City Music Hall stage to accept the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Mother in Ragtime. Her first Tony nomination. Her first Tony win. Twenty-four years into a Broadway career that has touched nearly every major musical of the past two decades.
Caissie Levy (pronounced KAY-see LEE-vee) is a 45-year-old Canadian-born actress and singer whose work spans eight Broadway productions, three West End runs, an Olivier Award nomination, a Grammy nomination, and one of the most beloved character originations in recent Broadway history: Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. She is best known to mainstream audiences for that role. She is best known to the theater world for something harder to quantify — the kind of consistent, technically brilliant, emotionally present stage work that makes every show she joins better than it would have been without her.
Ragtime is still running at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center through August 16, 2026, following multiple extensions. If you have not seen it, there is still time.
Growing Up in Hamilton: A Jewish Kid at Camp Ramah With a Big Voice
Caissie Shira Levy was born on April 15, 1981, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Dr. Mark Levy, is a general practitioner. Her mother, Lisa Levy, worked as an administrator at her husband’s medical practice. She grew up Jewish, attended a Jewish day school as a child, and at eleven years old began spending summers at Camp Ramah, a Jewish summer camp where she performed in all-Hebrew musicals.
She has spoken about Ramah with genuine warmth. “Nearly all of my childhood memories revolve around Ramah,” she once wrote. “It was an amazing, magical place where kids could just be kids, explore their Judaism, make life-long friends, and be free.” Those all-Hebrew musicals were where the love of the stage first became something she chased, not just something she enjoyed.
Her two older brothers, Robi and Josh Levy, went on to become film directors and writers, working together professionally as The Levy Brothers. Performing was clearly in the family’s water.
She graduated from Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton in 1999, with plans to stay in Canada and study Shakespeare. Then someone suggested she audition for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York. She auditioned on a whim. She got in. Canada’s plan for her did not survive that phone call.
AMDA, Rent, and the First Decade on Broadway
Levy graduated from AMDA in 2004. Within a week, she had landed the role of Maureen in the national tour of Rent. That speed — from conservatory to professional cast in days — was a signal of what the next two decades would look like.
Her Broadway debut came in 2002, actually overlapping with her AMDA studies, when she joined Hairspray as Penny Pingleton, a role she also played on the first national tour and in Toronto. What followed was one of the most consistently active Broadway careers of her generation.
She understudied Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway before taking over the role in the Los Angeles production in 2008, playing opposite Megan Hilty. In 2009, she joined the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair as Sheila, a role she later reprised in the West End. By 2011, she was in London originating Molly Jensen in Ghost: The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre before bringing it to Broadway in 2012.
None of these were small jobs. Each one required her to hold an entire show on her voice and her presence. She did it, consistently, and largely without the kind of public profile those credits deserved.
The 2014 revival of Les Misérables gave her Fantine at the Imperial Theatre. She stayed with the production into 2015. Then came Elsa.
Frozen, Fame, and the Role That Changed Everything
In 2017, Levy traveled to Denver for the out-of-town tryout of Disney’s Frozen stage musical, originating the role of Elsa. The show moved to Broadway on February 22, 2018. She played Elsa until the production closed on February 16, 2020, just weeks before Broadway shut down entirely.
Originating a role means you are the first person to bring that character to life on stage. You have no predecessor to reference, no prior production to watch. You build the character from the text, the music, and your own instincts, and then every person who plays that role after you will, consciously or not, measure themselves against what you did. Levy originated Elsa at a moment when Frozen was one of the most culturally visible properties in the world. She made “Let It Go” work on a Broadway stage nightly for two years.
She was also, by 2018, a mother for the first time. Her son Izaiah had been born in February 2016, six weeks premature, weighing three pounds at birth, requiring a month in the hospital. She has spoken about the experience of playing Elsa as the first role she performed as a mom. “He’s only ever known me as Elsa,” she said. “He just thought, ‘This is what everybody does on Broadway. They wear a gorgeous gown, get it ripped off from them every night, belt really high and have people stand up for them.'”
The Frozen years made her name recognizable to audiences who had never seen Wicked or Hair. They also did not slow her down.
London, Leopoldstadt, and the Long Road to Ragtime
After Frozen closed and Broadway went dark in 2020, Levy and her husband welcomed their second child, a daughter named Talulah Ruby, born March 19, 2021. That same year, Levy returned to the stage in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Caroline, or Change at Studio 54, playing Rose. The cast recording earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album in 2023.
She then starred in Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt on Broadway, the Tony Award-winning play following an extended Jewish family in Vienna across decades of history. It was a different kind of challenge from musical theater, and she met it.
The London chapters came next. She crossed the Atlantic to star as Diana Goodman in the UK premiere of Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse, one of London’s most prestigious small venues. The production, directed by Michael Longhurst, later transferred to Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End in 2024. For her performance, Levy received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical — a nomination she lost to Nicole Scherzinger’s Sunset Boulevard, but a recognition that placed her firmly among the most celebrated stage actresses working in both countries.
The Next to Normal production was filmed at Wyndham’s Theatre in September 2024 and aired on PBS as part of Great Performances in May 2025. It is now available on BroadwayHD. Anyone who wants to understand what Levy does as a performer before seeing Ragtime in person should watch it.
2024 brought the New York City Center Gala production of Ragtime, directed by Lear deBessonet, with Levy as Mother. The production was acclaimed enough that Lincoln Center Theater committed to a full Broadway transfer. It opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on October 16, 2025.
Ragtime, the Tony, and What Mother Means Right Now
Ragtime is based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel and follows three fictional families pursuing the American Dream at the dawn of the 20th century: Coalhouse Walker Jr. (played by Joshua Henry), a Black pianist from Harlem; Tateh (Brandon Uranowitz), a Jewish Latvian immigrant; and Mother, the matriarch of a wealthy white family in New Rochelle, New York.
Mother is the character who changes the most across the show. She begins privileged, comfortable, and constrained by the expectations of her era. By the end, she has adopted Sarah’s orphaned child, asserted her own independence, and fundamentally reimagined what her life means. She is not a secondary role. She is the show’s conscience.
Levy played her with exactly that weight. Lin-Manuel Miranda attended a December performance and was seen rocking out from the audience. USA Today named Ragtime one of the top five Broadway productions of 2025. The show received 11 Tony nominations, second-most of any show this season, and won four: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Leading Actor (Henry), Best Leading Actress (Levy), and Best Sound Design (Kai Harada).
At the 79th Annual Tony Awards on June 7, 2026 at Radio City Music Hall, Levy took the stage for the first time as a Tony winner. Her acceptance speech focused on the people around her, not on herself.
“I’m 20 years in, and the most important thing I’ve learned is that no one does it alone,” she said. “My parents, Mark and Lisa Levy, who are here tonight, I love you so much. Thank you for teaching me by example how to be a good person and a team player.”
She also thanked “every babysitter who’s made it possible for me to be both a Broadway actor and a mother.” That line landed hard. It acknowledged something the theater world rarely says plainly: that the infrastructure required to sustain a career like hers, especially as a mother of two, is invisible labor shared by many people who never take a bow.
One more detail from that night worth noting. Levy had originally been cast in The Lost Boys, another Broadway show this season. She left the production in the weeks before it opened, citing her family needing her presence more than the schedule could accommodate. Shoshana Bean replaced her in the role of Lucy Emerson and won a Tony for it the same night Levy won hers for Ragtime. It is a complicated footnote. It is also a clear illustration of the choices working mothers in theater are constantly forced to make, and the fact that Levy made the one she needed to make.
She told The Globe and Mail afterward: “As actors we want to say yes to all the jobs all the time. Sometimes things conflict. It ultimately became clear that my children needed me around a lot more, and I had to choose them first.”
David Reiser, Two Kids, and a Life Built Around the Stage
Levy married actor David Aaron Reiser on October 30, 2011, in an evening ceremony at the Soho Beach House in Miami Beach, after five years of dating. Their meeting was pure theater: in 2006, Reiser went to see a mutual friend in Hairspray at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia. Levy was playing Penny Pingleton. They met at the stage door for two minutes, shook hands, and both left knowing something had happened. They started dating nine months later in October 2006.
They have two children. Izaiah was born in February 2016, six weeks premature, and spent his first month in the hospital. Talulah Ruby was born on March 19, 2021. As of 2023, the family lives in New Jersey, having relocated from a co-op on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The commute into the city for eight shows a week is the trade-off for giving her children a home with space.
Levy has been open about the difficulty of navigating parenthood and a demanding Broadway career. In a New York Times profile during the Ragtime run, she said: “It was a very difficult time for my family at the start of the year. I have a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, and my amazing husband. As any working parent knows, in order to work at your best, something takes a hit in your family life.”
Both of her children came to see Ragtime in October 2025. She posted about it.
The Career in Full: A Timeline Worth Reading
What makes Levy’s body of work unusual is not just its length but its quality at every level. She has never coasted on a recognizable credit. Each role represents a technical and emotional commitment that most performers cannot sustain across one or two major shows, let alone a career spanning 20-plus years.
| Year(s) | Role | Production | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04 | Penny Pingleton | Hairspray | Broadway / National Tour |
| 2004 | Maureen | Rent | National Tour |
| 2003-08 | Ensemble / Elphaba | Wicked | Broadway / Los Angeles |
| 2009-10 | Sheila | Hair | Broadway / West End |
| 2011-12 | Molly Jensen | Ghost: The Musical | West End / Broadway |
| 2013 | Sara | Murder Ballad | Off-Broadway |
| 2014-15 | Fantine | Les Misérables | Broadway revival |
| 2015 | Patti Davis / Julie Nixon | First Daughter Suite | Off-Broadway |
| 2018-20 | Elsa (originator) | Frozen | Broadway |
| 2021-22 | Rose | Caroline, or Change | Broadway |
| 2022-23 | Eva Merz | Leopoldstadt | Broadway |
| 2023-24 | Diana Goodman | Next to Normal | Donmar Warehouse / West End |
| 2025-26 | Mother | Ragtime | Lincoln Center / Broadway |
She also performed “Back to Before” from Ragtime live on the TODAY show in January 2026, a performance that went quietly viral in theater circles and introduced the show to an audience that had not yet bought tickets.
Net Worth and What a Broadway Career Actually Pays
Levy’s net worth is estimated at around $5 million, a figure that reflects a 20-year career across Broadway, the West End, cast recordings, touring, and concert appearances rather than any single windfall.
Broadway leading actress salaries at major productions typically range from $5,000 to $20,000 per week at the top tier, with stars in Disney productions and Lincoln Center productions toward the higher end. Her multiple cast recordings — Hair, Ghost, Frozen, Caroline, or Change, Next to Normal — generate ongoing royalty income. Her solo EP, With You, is available for streaming. She has performed in concert at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops, at the London Hippodrome Casino, and on tour across the US, Canada, and the UK.
She is not in the same conversation as film and television stars when it comes to income — that is simply the reality of a career built almost entirely in live theater. What she has built instead is a reputation that has made her one of the most reliably employed, critically respected stage actresses in the English-speaking world. The Tony win will open doors she has not yet walked through.
Ragtime also launches a North American Tour in 2027, which Levy is presumably involved in planning, though no casting announcements have been made.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Caissie Levy?
Caissie Levy is 45 years old. She was born on April 15, 1981, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Who did Caissie Levy play in Frozen?
Caissie Levy originated the role of Elsa in Disney’s Frozen on Broadway. She was the first person to play the character on stage when the production opened in Denver in 2017 and then on Broadway on February 22, 2018. She played Elsa until the show closed on February 16, 2020.
What did Caissie Levy win the Tony Award for?
Caissie Levy won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Mother in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Ragtime, at the 79th Annual Tony Awards on June 7, 2026. It was her first Tony nomination and first win.
Who is Caissie Levy’s husband?
Caissie Levy has been married to actor David Aaron Reiser since October 30, 2011. They met at the stage door of a Hairspray production in Philadelphia in 2006 and started dating nine months later. They have two children: son Izaiah (born 2016) and daughter Talulah Ruby (born 2021).
Is Caissie Levy still in Ragtime?
Yes, as of June 2026, Ragtime is still running at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center and has been extended through August 16, 2026. Levy performs as Mother throughout the run, with some scheduled absences listed on the production’s official page.
Where is Caissie Levy from?
Caissie Levy was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She became a US citizen on January 21, 2021, and currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Caissie Shira Levy |
| Date of Birth | April 15, 1981 |
| Age (2026) | 45 |
| Birthplace | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian-American (US citizen since 2021) |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Education | Westdale Secondary School (1999); AMDA, New York (2004) |
| Broadway debut | Hairspray (2002) |
| Best known for | Elsa in Frozen (originator), Mother in Ragtime |
| Tony Award | Won 2026, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Ragtime) |
| Other nominations | Olivier Award (2024), Grammy Award (2023) |
| Husband | David Aaron Reiser (married October 30, 2011) |
| Children | Izaiah (b. 2016), Talulah Ruby (b. March 19, 2021) |
| Siblings | Robi and Josh Levy (The Levy Brothers, film directors) |
| Parents | Dr. Mark Levy and Lisa Levy, Hamilton, Ontario |
| Net Worth | Est. $5M |
| Current show | Ragtime, Vivian Beaumont Theater (through Aug 16, 2026) |