Rebecca Luker Wiki, Age, Husband, Family, Cause of Death, Net Worth, Illness, ALS, Instagram

Rebecca Luker Biography – Rebecca Luker Wiki

Rebecca Luker was an American actress, singer, and recording artist. She appeared in several musical theatre productions on Broadway. She began her three-decade-long Broadway career as an understudy for the role of Christine Daaé in “The Phantom of the Opera” from 1988 to 1991.

She left in 1991 to originate the role of Lily in the Secret Garden musical, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. By 1995, she received her first Tony nomination for a revival of Show Boat; in the musical’s long Broadway history, she was the only actor nominated for a Tony for the role of Magnolia Hawks.

She received subsequent Tony nominations for the role of Marian Paroo in a 2000 revival of The Music Man and Mrs. Banks in the original cast of the Mary Poppins musical, which she starred in from 2006–10.

Luker largely played stage roles but also guested on TV shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife, and Boardwalk Empire. Her final Broadway role was as a replacement in Fun Home in the role of mother Helen Bechdel. She took the stage for the final time in a 2019 Kennedy Center production of Footloose, as preacher’s wife Vi Moore.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she received her bachelors of arts in music from the University of Montavello in Alabama in 1984, before which she took a break to join the Michigan Opera Theater where she met a New York agent that would lead her to a Broadway career beginning with “The Phantom of the Opera.” Her other Broadway credits include “The Secret Garden” (1991-1993), “The Sound of Music” (1998-1999), “Nine” (2003), “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” (2013-2014) and “Fun Home” (2016).

Rebecca Luker Age

She was born on April 17, 1961, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. She died on December 23, 2020, in Manhattan, New York City. She was 59 years old.

Rebecca Luker Husband

Rebecca Luker had been married to her husband actor Danny Burstein since June 200. In April 2020, Burstein along with several other cast members of Moulin Rouge!, in which he was starring, contracted COVID-19. He was subsequently hospitalized at St. Luke’s in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan and recovered.

Rebecca Luker Children

Rebecca Luker has two stepsons, Zachary and Alexander, with her husband, Broadway actor Danny Burstein.

Rebecca Luker Family

She was the daughter of a high school treasurer and a construction worker. She is survived by her husband, actor Danny Burstein; stepsons, Zachary and Alexander Burstein; brother Roger; sister Suzanne; mother Martha Hales; and stepfather Lamar Hales.

Rebecca Luker Illness – Rebecca Luker ALS

Rebecca Luker was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in late 2019. She announced on February 9, 2020, that she was suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She tweeted: “Hello friends. I have some tough news. Late last year I was diagnosed with ALS. I have the best medical care in the world and the greatest support. My dear husband Danny has been an angel. I will get well. In the meantime, we fight and go forward. Keep us in your thoughts.”

As of June 2020, she could still sing, as she recorded a Zoom performance to raise money for the development of prosetin, an experimental drug that rescues motor neurons in ALS patients. However, in October 2020, Luker told NPR she had been confined to a wheelchair for seven months, and THE disease had progressed to the point where she had “no diaphragm,” thus could not speak loudly.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and causes the loss of muscles and eventual paralysis. There is no cure for the illness, and the average life expectancy for people diagnosed with ALS is three to five years, according to the ALS Association.

Rebecca Luker Death

Rebecca Luker died at a hospital in Manhattan on December 23, 2020, at the age of 59, her agent Sarah Fargo confirmed to the New York Times. Her husband Burstein told TODAY in a statement: “Our family is devastated. I have no words at this moment because I’m numb. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of love & support. We feel you here with us.”

Rebecca Luker Cause of Death

Rebecca Luker’s cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Rebecca Luker Net Worth

Rebecca Luker’s net worth was estimated to be $2 million.