Kinky Boots Star Jeanna de Waal on Wicked Tattoos, Prom Shoes & Her Brush with Prince Harry

Age: 25

Hometown: Solihull, Birmingham, UK

Current Role: A hilarious turn as Lauren, a kooky factory girl who has bad luck with guys in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots.

Stage Cred: Broadway debut as Heather in American Idiot, Glinda in the national tour of Wicked, Chris in off-Broadway’s Carrie.

“The kinkiest shoes I own are these amazing white stilettos with a gold lighting bolt on the heel—they were my high school prom shoes. They’re so uncomfortable!”

“Wicked fans have given me Tiffany jewelry and some beautiful handmade things...but the craziest was when someone got my signature tattooed on their arm.”

“I catered for Prince Harry once. My job was to make sure his drinks were topped off, but he and his girlfriend kept disappearing. Wait, I don’t know if I should share that, I don’t want to be executed.”

“One night in Wicked, Fiyero was an understudy and in the train scene, he didn’t show up. Elphaba and I adlibbed for two minutes like, ‘Let’s go get some tea while we wait for the train!’ The audience loves when things go wrong.”

“My first musical was in high school, this show about the ugly duckling hatching. I had to stand behind the guy who played the lead—his voice kept breaking and I had to sing for him.

“I’m single. Yeah, put that out there. Here, take my e-mail address, for anyone who’s single. [Laughs.] I’m joking!”