Megan Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington on March 29, 1981. Drawn to music at a young age, she explored a career in opera before deciding to pursue musical theatre. Megan attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelors degree in Theatre.
Following her graduation, Megan joined the Broadway company of Wicked as the Glinda standby. She made her Broadway debut in the fall of 2004 opposite Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, and assumed the role full-time in May 2005. After a year on Broadway, she continued with Wicked on tour and in the 2007-2009 Los Angeles production. While in Los Angeles, Megan made guest appearances on many television shows, including Bones, The Closer, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty, while also providing the singing voice for Snow White in Shrek the Third.
In 2009, Megan starred on Broadway as Doralee in 9 to 5: The Musical, Dolly Partons adaptation of the popular film. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Drama League Award, and an Ovation Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Megan next joined the cast of NBCs Smash as Ivy Lynn, an actress who is desperate to land the lead in a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker said of her work: Hilty has built a character who feels like a real Broadway diva: sexy, funny, ambitious, insecure, at once selfish and giving. The show aired from 2012-2013 and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Musical or Comedy Series.
During her hiatus between Smashs first and second seasons, Megan played Lorelei Lee in the New York City Center production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Megan received rave reviews for both the production and its cast recording. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called the opening performance &one of those single, golden nights, so cherished by theatergoers, that thrust its leading lady into the firmament of musical stardom.
2013 brought the release of Megans first solo album, It Happens All the Time, as well as her Carnegie Hall debut. Later that year, she joined the cast of NBCs Sean Saves the World, starring Sean Hayes. She also provided the voice of the China Doll Princess in the animated feature Legends of Oz: Dorothys Return and the voice of Rosetta in the Disney Fairies series.
In 2015, Megan starred in a one night only performance of Bombshell and a two night presentation of Annie Get Your Gun at New York City Center. She also returned to the Broadway stage as Brooke Ashton in Noises Off. For her performance, she received a 2016 Tony Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, as well as Drama Desk and Drama League Award nominations.
Since Noises Off ended its run in March 2016, Megan has guest-starred on Project Runway, Difficult People, Brain Dead, and The Good Wife and has released two albums: Megan Hilty Live at the Café Carlyle and A Merry Little Christmas. She also co-starred in the feature film Rules Dont Apply from director Warren Beatty. She maintains an active concert schedule, both with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and in solo concert at smaller venues.
Megan and her husband, Brian Gallagher, have two children. They live in Los Angeles.