For our twentieth anniversary issue, we thought we’d take a look back at some home-grown talent who made names for themselves across the globe in the same era that Westport magazine became a household name around here. Since the “girl next door” in these parts often means a superstar rather than a regular Jill or Joe, we are highlighting only a handful of the many luminaries who came of age here in the last couple decades. Justin Paul fans, we didn’t forget the musical dynamo who was still in middle school when this magazine was born and since has won a Tony, Oscar and Grammy.
You can read all about him in “Life’s a Song,” a feature we ran on him last year. For now, enjoy catching up with these fierce go-getters.
Abby Elliott
20 years ago… she was
11 years old
It seems like there’s something in the water in our towns, with all the locals who make it on the stage and screen. But with Wilton native Abby Elliott, acting and comedy is clearly in her blood. Abby’s grandfather Bob Elliott was part of the comedy duo Bob & Ray and co-starred on a Saturday Night Live Christmas episode in 1978. Her dad, Chris Elliott, was an SNL cast member during the 1994–95 season. In 2008, at the tender age of twenty-one, Abby was the youngest woman in history to join the cast and remained on the show for four seasons.
Abby, who attended Immaculate High School in Danbury, has numerous TV and film credits. Most recently, from 2015–17, she co-starred on the Bravo series Odd Mom Out. Her younger sister Bridey is also an actress. The whole family collaborated recently on a film written and directed by Bridey, Clara’s Ghost, which centers on a showbiz family, played by the four members of this showbiz family. It screened at Sundance and Vanity Fair reported: “Clara’s Ghost is a rough, revealing look at a famous family.”
Adam Kaplan
20 years ago… he was
7 years old
This Westport native, who honed his acting skills with Staples Players, has had an amazing run since landing in New York. Fresh from Elon University with a BFA in musical theater, he made his Broadway debut in Newsies in 2013. He played several roles and went on as the lead, Jack Kelly, numerous times (including a harrowing experience jumping in for two sick Jacks before he’d even rehearsed the second act!). Soon after, Adam performed in the National Philharmonic’s Show Boat, which was broadcast on PBS as part of the Live at Lincoln Center series. He then landed the lead role of Charlie Price in the national tour of Kinky Boots. Most recently, he starred as Calogero in A Bronx Tale on Broadway. All this from a guy who was only six years old when this magazine made its debut twenty years ago.
“I attribute a great deal of my success to having grown up in Westport,” says Kaplan. “I’ve always been proud of Westport’s ability to foster and encourage young artists. Our public schools challenged me to be a stronger, creative and driven performer.”
Kyle Martino
20 years ago… he was
17 years old
Kyle’s stage is the soccer field. He played soccer at Staples High School and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1998. In his junior season at University of Virginia, he was named ACC Player of the Year and was one of fifteen finalists for the Hermann Trophy as a sophomore and junior. He left UVA after three years to play professional soccer and was recruited by the Columbus Crew. He was traded to the LA Galaxy in 2006. Injuries led to his retirement two years later, but Kyle didn’t leave the soccer world behind. He became a sports commentator for NBC.
Earlier this year Kyle ran for president of the United States Soccer Federation, focusing on infusing joy back into the sport for youth on the local level and breaking down financial barriers. He lost the race but not his commitment to his mission. A Westport mom comments, “He came to Mickey Kydes Soccer Camp here and was so great with the kids! My daughter got her shoe signed. It’s so nice of him to give back.”
Kyle is married to actress Eva Amurri (daughter of Susan Sarandon) and the pair has been open about the miscarriages they suffered, making the topic less taboo to the many who face the same despair. The couple now has two children.
Jared Cohen
20 years ago… he was
16 years old
This Weston native was still a teen when the premiere issue of Westport hit the racks. By the time this magazine turned fifteen, Jared made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
A history and political science major at Stanford, Jared went on to earn a master’s in international relations as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. He interned at the U.S. State Department and then served as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning staff. In her book, No Higher Honor, Condoleezza Rice applauds the twenty-four-year-old’s foresight in integrating “social media into our diplomatic tool kit.” Hillary Clinton kept Cohen on staff and he advised on policy in the Middle East, particularly Iran, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan as advisor to Richard Holbrooke.
Cohen is now an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Founder and CEO of Jigsaw (formerly Google Ideas). He has written four books, including the New York Times bestseller The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business.
Alisan Porter
20 years ago… she was
17 years old
This Staples grad got an early start on stardom. At age five, she was the youngest performer ever to win Star Search, and five years later she starred in Curly Sue opposite Jim Belushi. She acted with Staples Players during high school and landed the lead of Anita in West Side Story as only a freshman.
After moving to New York at eighteen, Alisan was promptly cast in Footloose on Broadway. Her success as an actress and singer continued in L.A., where she starred in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer and Adam Lambert. Alisan performed in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line in 2006 and came out with her debut album in 2009.
Being a mom of two small children did not slow her down when Alisan competed on The Voice in 2016. She won season 10, with Christina Aguilera as her coach (the first win for Aguilera—and first for any female coach on the show).
