Jan Sherwood is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress mostly known for her work on the stage. She made her Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 debut in 1944 as Marpha in The Day Will Come. In 1950 she returned to Broadway to portray the Lady in Waiting to Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...

's Rosalind in William Shakespear's As You Like It

As You Like It

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...

.

In 1952 she portrayed Sarah Woodling in the original production of Paint Your Wagon and she originated the role of Venus in the 1954 musical Ondine. In 1956 she took over the role of Ninotchka in Silk Stockings

Silk Stockings

Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Hildegarde Knef gives a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of "Silk Stockings" in her autobiography "The Gift Horse:...

and then toured the United States in that role for that show's first national tour.

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