Is Tony Winner Karen Olivo Leaving Acting Behind for Good?

Tony winner Karen Olivo, who recently appeared in the one-night-only reunion concert of In the Heights, posted a message on her website on March 18 revealing she was leaving behind acting for an indefinite amount of time.

In a blog post titled "Starting Over," Olivo wrote: "I split with my second husband of six years. I was alone again. I was crushed. And in true Olivo-fashion, I threw myself into my next job. I knew it would be my last for sometime. As I re-arranged my life to move back to NYC for a short stint I sensed a conclusion coming. I knew as I was packing my box of dressing room things that I wasn't likely to use them again."

Olivo, who also reflected on her childhood and why she started acting, continued, "It was my last lesson before I would leave it all behind," she wrote. "And with this knowledge I start a new chapter. I leave behind the actor and I start learning how to be me."

Olivo earned a Tony Award and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for playing Anita in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. She also originated the role of Vanessa in the Tony-winning In the Heights. Olivo recently starred in MTC's off-Broadway production of Murder Ballad. She was a series regular on the recently-cancelled NBC drama Harry’s Law.

Flashback to 2009 when Olivo and her West Side Story co-stars performed the classic tune "America" on Late Night.