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Elaine Paige has had such an illustrious career that she's often referred to as "The First Lady of British Musical Theater." It's her 75th birthday this week, so we're taking the opportunity to make her our British Icon of the Week. Here's a reminder of 10 highlights from Paige's many decades in the entertainment industry. 

1. She originated the role of Grizabella in Cats.

When Cats opened in London's West End in 1981, Grizabella was due to be played by Judi Dench. However, Paige stepped in very late in the rehearsal period after Dench snapped her Achilles tendon while training for the part. Paige made a great success of the role and scored a hit single with Grizabella's signature torch song "Memory."

2. She also starred in the original West End production of Evita.

Paige won an Olivier Award – the top prize in British theater – for her performance as Eva Perón in the hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The role, which has since been played by everyone from Madonna to Patti LuPone, required her to sing future standards such as "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall."

3. She sang an all-time classic duet.

Paige teamed with fellow musical theater star Barbara Dickson for "I Know Him So Well," a ballad from Chess, a musical written by Rice and ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It reached number-one in the U.K. in 1985, but it wasn't until the following year that Paige actually joined the West End cast of Chess, which centers on a Cold War-era chess tournament between two grandmasters. 

4. She starred in the Broadway production of Sunset Boulevard.

After a couple of near misses earlier in her career, Paige finally made her Broadway debut in 1996 when she succeeded Betty Buckley as the lead in Sunset Boulevard. Paige had previously played the role of faded film star Norma Desmond in the West End version of Lloyd Webber and Rice's hit musical.

5. She also starred in a Broadway revival of Follies.

Paige is most associated with Lloyd Webber's shows, but she has also performed in a couple of Stephen Sondheim musicals. In 2011, she starred opposite Bernadette Peters in a revival of Follies that played on Broadway as well as in L.A. and Washington, D.C. She portrayed the aging actress Carlotta Campion, a role that allowed her to belt out Sondheim's classic survival anthem "I'm Still Here."

6. She guest-starred in an episode of Midsomer Murders.

Paige is best known for her stage work but has also played numerous "straight" (non-singing) roles on TV. In 2017, she appeared in "The Ghost of Causton Abbey," an episode of the long-running detective drama that you can watch on Acorn TV.

7. She received an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II.

Paige was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995 for services to musical theater. In the clip below, you can watch her performing "Anything Goes" at the Royal Variety Performance in 1990 for an audience that included Queen Elizabeth II.

8. She has released more than 20 albums.

Paige has tended to record songs from musicals, as you might expect. But, this doesn't mean she is averse to the odd wildcard cover. In 1988, she released The Queen Album, an LP featuring orchestral versions of Queen classics including "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and "A Kind Of Magic."

9. She played iconic French singer Édith Piaf.

In 1994, Paige earned another Olivier nomination for her starring role in Piaf, a musical play about the legendary chanteuse. She then released an album, also called Piaf, featuring her versions of Piaf songs including "La Vie en Rose."

10. And finally, she hosts her own long-running radio show.

Since 2004, she has presented Elaine Paige on Sunday, a weekly show on the U.K.'s most listened-to station, BBC Radio 2. It features a mix of theater news, interviews, and showtunes plus Paige's verdicts on the latest West End and Broadway productions. Since 2019, the show has been streaming in the U.S. on Broadway.com.

Do you have a favorite Elaine Paige song or performance?