Linda Balgord is an award winning American Broadway actress and singer, most notable for playing Norma Desmond in the 1996 United States tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Sunset Boulevard, being the last actress to portray Grizabella in the original Broadway run of Cats and originating the role of Queen Elizabeth I in The Pirate Queen on Broadway.
A graduate of RADA, Richards is also well known for her body of work in musical theatre, having starred in several West End productions such as Robert and Elizabeth (her debut in 1964), Cats (following Elaine Paige as Grizabella), High Society, Blood Brothers, Cole and Liza of Lambeth.