
Outlander star looks unrecognisable as she stuns at glitzy event
Outlander actress Laura Donnelly looked sensational as she graced the red carpet alongside some star-studded showbiz faces. Hollywood legends such as George Clooney and Sadie Sink were also nominated at the Tony awards.
Laura, famed for her role as Jenny Fraser in the early seasons of the hit Starz show, was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in The Hills of California.
And the Irish-born actress looked stunning, with many fans complimenting her on the night earlier this week on Monday, June 9, saying she looked almost "unrecognisable".
"Did anyone notice Laura Donnelly as one of the presenters on the TONY awards. She looked so different," quipped one Outlander fan.
"If they hadn't posted her name, I would not have known that she was 'our Jenny'," said another. Laura's performance, in which she plays two roles, was described by the New York Times as a 'blur of skittery emotion'.
Although she didn't walk away with top gongs, she certainly got everyone talking at the event hosted in New York on June 9.
The 78th Tony Awards, which were hosted by Cynthia Erivo, recognises excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan.
Jamie Fraser's (played by Sam Heughan) older sister Jenny Murray was a key character of the Starz drama for the first three seasons of Outlander.
In the show, Jenny decided to leave with Jamie for America after her husband Ian Murray (Steven Cree) died, believing there to be no reason to stay in Lallybroch.
However, fans were unaware at the time that this would be the final time they would see Laura in the role.
She left the historical drama due to having various other commitments.
She was performing The Ferryman on Broadway at the time and was pregnant with her second child. Not bringing Donnelly back as Jenny wasn't for a lack of trying though, as executive producer Maril Davis told Entertainment Weekly in 2018.
She explained: "We had every intention of having a Brianna and Jenny [moment] but we waited and we kept dragging our feet, quite honestly, because we thought we could convince her and the schedules would change.
"We could move our schedule and accommodate her but at the end of the day, it just didn't work out so we scrambled to come up with another story.'
Donnelly herself also said following her departure that a comeback was unlikely as she thought Jenny would be old and so 'I think that's probably me out'.
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