Carrie Manolakos

Hometown: Syracuse, New York

Currently: Making her Broadway debut in the hit musical Mamma Mia! as Sophie, the bride-to-be who wreaks havoc by secretly inviting three of her mom's former boyfriends one of whom may be her dad to her wedding.

Thank You for the Music: Growing up in upstate New York, Manolakos was the oddball in her family, so to speak. Dad was a financial advisor. Mom taught anthropology. Her brother and sister would eventually work on Wall Street and teach, respectively. Carrie, by contrast, stood in the living room singing Whitney Houston songs at the top of her lungs and begging mom to get her on Star Search. Dad sated her briefly by letting her sing at the local church. Mom read up on the business in how-to acting books and issues of Backstage. By age 10, the budding actress got her first professional gig: playing the stable girl in William Gibson's The Butterfinger's Angel at Syracuse Stage, directed by Tazewell Thompson. "It was the perfect 10-year-old part," remembers Manolakos. "I got to sing 'Silent Night' and had about 20 lines."

I Have a Dream: Three years later, Manolakos landed one of the meatiest roles a child actor can get: Scout in a stage version of To Kill a Mockingbird. Getting her to attend the audition, however, took some arm-twisting from Mom and Dad. "They were like, 'What about this?' And I was like, 'No, there's no music in it.' They kept telling me it was this really beautiful American story." She gave in, and got cast in a part that changed her career goals. "I knew I wanted to do theater, and not just sing, for the rest of my life," Manolakos says, adding that Scout's tomboy nature was a plus. "I'd been an athlete my whole life, so it was really fun to be able to do that in a theatrical way."

The Winner Takes It All: In addition to performing in shows and taking lessons, Manolakos found the time to play volleyball and soccer and to run track. During her sophomore year, she scored the most goals in her soccer league and became the first girl from her high school to make the all-state team. When she announced a desire to add gymnastics to the list, her parents drew the line. "I was like, 'All right, well, I'm going to teach myself." So she laid out couch cushions in the backyard and set about learning how to tumble. "I almost broke my neck. I came in crying, and my parents were like, 'Okay, we'll take you to gymnastics.'"

Take a Chance on Me: After appearing in local productions of Once on This Island, Fiddler on the Roof and A Midsummer Night's Dream as Puck, Manolakos kicked off her next phase as a student at N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts. At the end of her junior year, she attended an audition workshop in which students got to sing for an agent from Tara Rubin Casting, who provided instant feedback. Later, while Manolakos was working in summer stock, the agency called her in—three times—to audition for Mamma Mia! "They said 'You got the job! Can you be in Canada in 10 days?'" Not a lot of time to back out of an internship, get rid of an apartment and apply for a leave-of-absence at N.Y.U., where she was this-close to getting her degree. But, as they say, them's the breaks: "My dad packed me up, we did my laundry and it was off to Winnipeg."

Super Trouper: Manolakos performed in the ensemble of the Mamma Mia! tour for six months before being promoted to the role of Sophie. Shortly after that, she was invited to join the Broadway company. "It's so nice to have my life back, to do a show I love, be with my friends and go home to my own bed," she says. "My brother's in Jersey. My sister's in Brooklyn. My parents are still in Syracuse. It's the best of both worlds." Knowing little about ABBA before signing on, Manolakos says she's still surprised at how the group's songbook inspires the craziest behavior from the most unlikely suspects, especially during the show's rousing finale. "A lot of wives bring their husbands, who're like, 'I'm not going to like this.' And they end up loving it!" Watching rhythmically challenged dads dance in the aisles may not be the hippest gig on Broadway, but Manolakos isn't copping any attitude. "It sounds silly, but when you're watching everyone do it, you can't help but enjoy it with them."