Emma Louise Dodd was born and raised in Ipswich, England and started dancing from the age of four, attending the Co-op Dance classes on a Saturday morning at the end of her road. By the age of eleven, she had her first taste of professional theatre when she successfully auditioned for a role in 'Hans Christian Anderson' at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.

After her first experience of theatre, Emma joined local amateur dramatics group 'Company of Four' based in Woodbridge, Suffolk. The group provided Emma with an opportunity to perform successful West End shows on a smaller scale. It was at 'Company of Four' that Emma matured as a performer and she soon developed a talent for choreography and was able to showcase this through the local performances.

Emma furthered her repertoire by taking acting lessons from the acclaimed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and gained numerous awards and accolades in the process. This led to appearances in shows and festivals around the East Anglian region.

Emma attended Thurleston High School in Ipswich and during her time at school realised that a career in professional theatre beckoned. After furthering her education at Northgate Sixth Form and obtaining the necessary A-Levels. Emma was in a position to begin auditioning for the highly prestigious Laine Theatre Arts Stage School in Epsom, Surrey.

With the help of life-long dance teacher Coral Stebbings, Emma successfully enrolled in Laines in 1996 and took a 3 year intensive musical theatre course, graduating in the summer of 1999. As well as successfully obtaining her diploma, Emma gained her teachers associate certificates from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) in Modern and Tap.

Since graduating from Laines, Emma has appeared in numerous shows in London's West End which can be seen on the Shows page.

Other career highlights include, performing in Showboat at the Royal Albert Hall - the first musical ever to be staged there, starring in a number of pantomimes around the United Kingdom and various other works for television and radio.

Emma starred in the multi-award winning Hairspray at the Shaftsbury Theatre in London. This led on to live appearances at the 2007 Royal Variety Show, Strictly Come Dancing, Children In Need. The Paul O'Grady Show and the prestigious Olivier Musical Awards in 2008, where Hairspray won four awards.

After a successful career in London, Emma has turned her attention to bringing the magic of the West End back home to Ipswich by opening her own school of Performing Arts for all ages. Emma has recently taken on the role of Head of Musical Theatre at Tiffany's Theatre College in Essex.