Bonnie Milligan was named winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical June 11 at the 76th Annual Tony Awards at United Palace in Washington Heights.
Milligan won the prize her work as Debra in Kimberly Akimbo.
READ: Broadway, Watch Out for Bonnie Milligan
Others in that category included Julia Lester in Into the Woods, Ruthie Ann Miles in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, NaTasha Yvette Williams in Some Like It Hot, and Betsy Wolfe in & Juliet.
Milligan previously starred on Broadway as Princess Pamela in Head Over Heels.
READ: How to Watch and Stream the 2023 Tony Awards
In her acceptance speech, Milligan made an entreaty for diversity. "I want to tell everybody that doesn't look like what the world is telling you should look like. Whether you're not pretty enough, you're not fit enough, your identity is not right, who you love isn't right—that doesn't matter because guess what, it's right, and you belong."
Milligan also said that Kimberly Akimbo helped her process the grief of her father's death. And she thanked him and her family in her speech: "My mom and my brother are here with me...they have always loved me and embraced this insane life, including my dad. My voice is my dad's voice. So I get to bring him into Broadway eight times a week."
READ: How Kimberly Akimbo Has Helped Bonnie Milligan Cope With Tragedy
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Nina White, Michael Iskander, Fernell Hogan, and Olivia Hardy in Kimberly Akimbo
Alli Mauzey and Victoria Clark in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark and Justin Cooley in Kimberly Akimbo
Justin Cooley in Kimberly Akimbo
Michael Iskander, Justin Cooley, Victoria Clark, Nina White, Olivia Hardy, and Fernell Hogan in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark and Justin Cooley in Kimberly Akimbo
Alli Mauzey in Kimberly Akimbo
Bonnie Milligan in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark and Steven Boyer in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark and Alli Mauzey in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley, Michael Iskander, Olivia Hardy, Nina White, and Fernell Hogan in Kimberly Akimbo
Nina White, Bonnie Milligan, Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskander, and Olivia Hardy in Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley, and Steven Boyer in Kimberly Akimbo
Alli Mauzey, Victoria Clark, and Steven Boyer in Kimberly Akimbo
The company of Kimberly Akimbo
Victoria Clark in Kimberly Akimbo
