Michael Ball is an English actor, singer, and broadcaster who is well known for his performance as the lead character in the West End production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and also as Raoul in “The Phantom of the Opera”.
Having his career started initially with a theatre show, “Les Misérables” in 1985, Ball has come a long way up establishing himself as one of the prominent actors in his field. Ball also has a stable music career as he has released several albums including his no. 1 charting songs; “Love Changes Everything” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
For his services to musical theatre, he was even appointed as the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours. His latest album along with Alfie Boe, “Together At Christmas” earned the duo a no. 1 on charts in November 2020.
Besides, Ball is quite active on social media sites with over 114k followers on Twitter: @mrmichaelball and over 56k followers on Instagram: @mrmichaelball.
What is Michael Ball Famous for?
- Famous as an actor and singer.
- Known for his role in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Source: @twitter
Where was Michael Ball Born?
Michael Ball was born on June 27, 1962, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. His birth name is Michael Ashley Ball. He holds an English nationality. His ethnicity is White while Cancer is his zodiac sign.
Michael Ball was born as the second child to his Welsh mother, Ruth Ball, and an English father, Tony Ball. His father named Tony who wanted to become an actor was the head of global sales at British Leyland. Ball grew up along with his two siblings; a brother, Kevin, four years his senior, and a sister, Katherine, almost 10 years younger.
His family moved to Dartmoor when he was just 3 years old where he spent much of his childhood days. He had an interest in theatre and acting since his childhood that he learned music by singing along to several songs. Seeing the passion in Ball, his father took him to see shows in the school holidays.
Ball went to Plymouth College when he turned 11 years during the same time, he joined his fellow junior boarders on Sunday morning at the Pathfinder bible group in St Andrew’s church.
He also studied drama at Guildford School of Acting, during which he even went out for buskin to earn money. Soon after his graduation in 1984, Ball’s singing career rapidly got off the ground.
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Michael Ball’s Career Highlights
- Michael Ball started his career with his first role in “Godspell” at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
- His first major break came when he was a star part in the production of “The Pirates of Penzance” at Manchester Opera House.
- Ball got his initial break when he was cast as Marius in the original London cast of “Les Misérables” which he reprised in “Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert” in 1995.
- He got another hit playing the role of Raoul in the second casting of “The Phantom of the Opera” in London in 1986.
- His one-man show’s first performance was “Alone Together” at the Donmar Warehouse.
- In 1998 Ball performed at three big concerts: “The Fiftieth Birthday Concert of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, “Sondheim Tonight” and “Hey, Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh”.
- Ball took on the role of Caractacus Potts in the Sherman Brothers musical, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in 2002.
- He made his New York City Opera debut as Reginald Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Patience” in 2005.
- In 2007, he made his West End return starring as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
- Ball also has an established career as a recording artist with his hit songs; “Love Changes Everything”.
- He even had finished up in the second position in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “One Step Out of Time” in 1992.
- His albums include; “The Movies”, “One Voice”, “Both Sides Now”, “If Everyone Was Listening”, “Coming Home To You”.
- In April 2020, Ball recorded a duet cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with 99-year-old World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore.
- Ball even had his own TV series, “Michael Ball” and his own radio series, “Ball over Broadway”.
- He also has presented “The National Lottery Draws” and “Children in Need”.
- In 2014, Ball starred in Victoria Wood’s musical “That Day We Sang”.
- His first regular show on Radio 2 was Michael Ball’s “Sunday Brunch” in 2008.
- He made his BBC Proms debut with An Evening with Michael Ball at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007.
- In late November 2020, Ball along with Alfie Boe hit the charts with the release of their fourth studio record, “Together At Christmas”.
Source: @walesonline
Awards
- 2 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
- Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Actor in a Musical
Michael Ball’s Wife
Michael Ball is currently in a relationship with his long-term partner, Cathy McGowan. McGowan is a British broadcaster and journalist, best known as the presenter of the rock music television show, “Ready Steady Go!”. They met for the first time in around 1989 when McGowan was serving as an entertainment reporter for a BBC London magazine show.
Their meeting was held when she interviewed him during rehearsals for “Aspects of Love”.
After knowing each other for just 3 years, they decided to live together in 1992since then the couple has been living a blissful life together. McGowan even has a daughter, Emma, with her first husband actor Hywell Bennett. Also, back on December 23, 2000, Cathy saved Ball’s life by dragging him out of a house fire.
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Michael Ball’s Net Worth
Michael Ball has quite healthy earnings from his stable and successful career as an actor, singer, and broadcaster. Having his professional career started as a theatre actor, Ball has surprisingly received several successes in his 30 years long career.
With his acting roles in movies, plays, his songs, and also presenting shows on TV, he has easily managed to amass a wealthy fortune. His net worth is estimated to be around $25 million. With his million worth of fortune earned with his hard works, Ball is living a luxurious lifestyle.
Michael Ball’s Height
Michael Ball is a good-looking man with a healthy average body physique in his 50s. He stands tall with a height of 5ft. 10inches. while his body weighs around 85kg. He has an average body figure of measurement of 38-45-35 inches with 8(US) as his shoe size. He has a fair complexion with brown hair and blue eyes.
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