Elaine Paige nearly quit acting - until major Hollywood icon intervened

Daily Mirror

11-05-2025

Celebrating 60 years in showbiz, Elaine Paige is looking back on her glittering career for the BBC. But she once had doubts she'd make it, leaving one legend to set her straight.
Before Elaine Paige was catapulted to stardom as Eva Perón in Evita, she nearly quit show business altogether - but one Hollywood A-lister intervened before it was too late.
'I was nearing 30 and everyone around me was either getting married, having children or succeeding in their own careers,' Elaine Paige says. 'Though I worked, I couldn't land a really good role.'
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Tired of rejection and uncertain about her future, she even considered retraining as a nursery nurse. 'I was just trying to think of other things that I might do if working in theatre didn't come to pass,' she says.
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Elaine, 77, partly blames her height for those early struggles. 'They would often cast a 6ft tall man,' she quips. 'It was awkward. They sometimes put a board down to lift me up so I could be in the same frame.'
It was Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman who convinced her to hang on, offering her the perfect encouragement at a time when rejection felt relentless.
'I was thinking of throwing in the towel because there's only so much rejection one can take. But he encouraged me to stick with it,' Elaine says. 'He told me not to give up, to keep singing and, if necessary, sing on the streets like Édith Piaf.'
Shortly afterwards, Elaine won the role that made her a star and, ironically, her petit 5ft stature worked in her favour. 'Eva Perón herself was a small person,' Elaine says. 'She was only about 5ft 2in or something!'
Since her star turn in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 1978 hit, Elaine has lived many lives on stage, taking on iconic roles in Cats, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease and Sunset Boulevard.
In 2014, she bid farewell to full-time stage work with a sold-out 50th anniversary tour. Although she still performs selectively, the Olivier Award winner has transitioned to the small screen, appearing in the BBC 's A Midsummer Night's Dream , the comedy Home From Home and the drama series Life .
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Now, the BBC is celebrating her six decades in show business. 'I was amazed when they told me' she says. 'It's both flattering and slightly overwhelming.' And the longevity of her own career is still daunting. 'It's hard to believe, it's gone by in a blink of an eye.'
The celebrations kicked off with a starry BBC Radio 2 concert at the London Palladium, broadcast on 4 May. Hosted by Zoe Ball, the show featured big names from the West End and Broadway, including Samantha Barks and Charlie Stemp.
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And this Sunday, 11 May, BBC Four airs an exclusive interview where Zoe sits down with Elaine for a candid career-spanning conversation.
'I'd never met Zoe before, even though we're colleagues at the BBC,' Elaine says, 'so it was a pleasure to meet her. She's very easygoing, and friendly. We got on terribly well. It felt like a bit of a chat rather than a two-hour interview.'
Elaine's glittering career has brought her face to face with royalty and showbiz legends alike, but few moments have matched a surreal encounter with the late Queen Elizabeth II during a private concert at Windsor Castle with Barbara Dickson, when a wardrobe malfunction struck mid-performance.
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'My earring fell out of my ear,' she recalls. 'I picked it up and placed it on the lid of the piano and carried on singing.' After the concert, the Queen came to greet her. 'She threw her arms around me in this enormous hug,' Elaine recalls, 'then she said, 'It's such a nuisance when that happens, isn't it?''
Today, the star is realistic about her future on the stage. 'Never say never,' she says, 'but I honestly can't imagine performing in musicals ever again. Musical theatre demands everything you've got. You have to be incredibly fit, strong and have endless energy.
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'When I played Eva or Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard , I couldn't play these roles with my heart and soul and live an ordinary life,' she says. 'It was so demanding in every aspect. You have to be dedicated to giving up your life. But I loved every minute.'
These days, Elaine is content to pass the baton to a new generation, yet she admits there's still a part of her that misses it. 'I watch others now,' she says. 'I sometimes think, 'I wish I could still do it.' But I don't know if I can ever do it again.'
She's thrilled, however, that musical theatre has finally captured the mainstream's imagination. 'Twenty years ago, it was a niche subject,' she says. 'It wasn't as cool as it is now!'