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Ann Reinking

Ann Reinking (1949–2020) brought a dancer’s precision to acting and an actor’s sense of character to choreography. Born in Seattle on November 10, 1949, she began ballet lessons as a child and made her professional performing debut at 12 in a Royal Ballet production of Giselle in the United Kingdom. After further study with the San Francisco Ballet and Joffrey Ballet, she moved to New York City at 18 and made her Broadway debut in Cabaret at 19. Her career became closely connected with the work of Bob Fosse. Reinking appeared in Pippin, Dancin’ and Chicago, taking over the role of Roxie Hart in 1977. She was also Fosse’s protégée and romantic partner, and their creative collaboration continued after their relationship ended. That history gave her role as Katie Jagger in Fosse’s semi-autobiographical film All That Jazz an unusual charge: the character was loosely based on Reinking and her relationship with him. Reinking’s screen career was compact but distinctive. In Annie, she played Grace Farrell, bringing warmth and poise to the musical’s polished world. She later appeared as Micki Salinger in the comedy Micki & Maude. She also appeared in Mad Hot Ballroom, the 2005 documentary about New York City public school dance competitions, which she supported as a judge. Her most substantial legacy came through choreography. In 1996, Reinking created choreography in Fosse’s style for an Encores! concert staging of Chicago and returned to play Roxie nearly two decades after first taking the role. The production transferred to Broadway, and she won the Tony Award for Best Choreography. She later co-created, co-directed and co-choreographed the revue Fosse, earning a Tony co-nomination for direction and sharing the 2001 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. Across stage and screen, Reinking understood movement as character. Whether performing a number, playing a scene or shaping an entire production, she made physical expression central to the storytelling.