Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer. Kazan made her Broadway debut in The Happiest Girl in the World in 1961 followed by Bravo Giovanni (1962). She served as understudy to Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl.
As her popularity increased, Kazan posed nude for a spread in the October 1970 issue of Playboy. Kazan appeared in numerous supper clubs across the country, and she guested on Dean Martin’s variety series 26 times. A life member of The Actors Studio, Kazan returned to Broadway to recreate her film role for the musical adaptation of My Favorite Year, earning a Tony Award nomination for her performance. She completed a stint in The Vagina Monologues. She has also appeared in regional productions of A Little Night Music, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hello, Dolly!, and Fiddler on the Roof, among others. In 1984, she made a guest appearance on the Faerie Tale Theatre episode “Pinocchio” as Sophia the Blue Fairy.
She was also featured in My Big Fat Greek Life, a short-lived series based on the Nia Vardalos hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.