From an unknown, unpromising singer standing 1.5 meters tall, she skyrocketed to fame in 1978 by performing the leading role of Eva Peron in Evita. From international successful roles in Cats and a Broadway debut with Sunset Boulevard to suffering breast cancer, the only certainty with the 64-year-old is that what's next is always a surprise.
One night in 1981, a big black cat followed her home from a dinner party, and she adopted it. The very next day, Andrew Lloyd Webber called her and said that she had won the role of Grizabella in the original production of Cats, which was a second peak of Paige's musical career. So she named the cat "Grizabella".
The singer, dubbed the First Lady of the British Musical Theater, will celebrate her 40th year onstage in November with a show in Beijing.
Having performed in Beijing twice before, she says she's happy to know that she has contributed to musical development in China, now that songs like Memory and Don't Cry For Me Argentina helped introduce Western musicals to the country.
"China is a great country, with many enthusiastic fans. I really enjoyed the time and performances in China," she says.
She will also sing with Fei Xiang, or Kris Phillips, the renowned Chinese-American pop icon and singer of musicals, who performed with Paige at The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a concert staged in the Great Hall of The People in Beijing in 2001.
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