Star of West End musicals dies at 50

Stephanie Lawrence, the stage star who had leading roles in Cats, Evita and Starlight Express, died yesterday at her London home.

Stephanie Lawrence, the stage star who had leading roles in Cats, Evita and Starlight Express, died yesterday at her London home.

Laurie Sautereau, her husband of two months, confirmed her death, which a Scotland Yard spokesman said was not being treated as suspicious.

Ms Lawrence, who was 50, was well-known for appearances in Broadway musicals as well as the West End. But she recently withdrew from a production of the Willy Russell musical Blood Brothers, due to exhaustion, and amid reports that she had been suffering alcoholism and depression.

Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the theatrical impresario, sacked her from a production of Cats two years ago after she fell from a stairway. "It was the only sensible thing to do. She put herself in danger," he said.

Ms Lawrence had starred as several famous figures of the 20th century. She took the role of Eva Peron in Evita in 1981, and then, in 1984, Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn!She also appeared as Mary Magdalene in ITV's Doubting Thomas. The daughter of a classical dancer and a musician, she had begun her stage career aged two; her West End debut, at age 16, was as a roller-skating tap dancer in a Peter Nichols play.

She always insisted her career came before relationships. She had married in September.