Ali Stroker has become the first person in a wheelchair to ever win a Tony Award.

Stroker, 31, won the award for best featured actress in a musical on Sunday night for her role as Ado Annie in the acclaimed, edgy revival of Oklahoma!.

The performer is paralysed from the chest down due to a car crash when she was two.

She booked her first musical theatre gig at the age of seven, when she was cast as the title role in Annie in a friend’s backyard production in a New Jersey beach town.

When she sang, she says she “felt so free”.

Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Show all 40 1 /40 Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Celia Keenan-Bolger wears a pale blue tulle gown on the red carpet. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Joanne Tucker and Adam Driver pose on the red carpet at the Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Shoshana Bean attends the Tony Awards in a red mermaid-style gown. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Tiler Peck wears a black statement gown on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Laura Osnes wears a pink one-shouldered gown while posing with Nathan Johnson on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Danai Gurira wore a white-and-gold gown with statement sleeves on the red carpet. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Emily Ratajkowski wore a black cutout gown on the red carpet. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Emily Ratajkowski poses with Michael Kors on the red carpet of the Tony Awards. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Hamish Bowles wears a colourful floral suit on the red carpet in shades of purple. He matched the outfit with purple sneakers. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Vanessa Hudgens wore a paisley and sparkle mini dress in shades of grey and silver for the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Audra McDonald wore a one-shouldered white gown on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Reeve Carney wore a top hat paired with shimmery pants and a unique suit jacket. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Kerry Butler wore a floral gown on the red carpet for the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Billy Porter wore a suit-gown combination by Celestino Couture on the red carpet with a uterus motif. The outfit was meant to convey a statement about women's rights. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Camille A Brown attends the Tony Awards in a blue tulle gown. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Ira Kunyansky and Abigail Breslin arrive on the red carpet at the Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Lilli Cooper wears a blue mermaid gown on the red carpet. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Billy Porter wears a red-and-pink tulle outfit on the red carpet alongside Adam Smith. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Charlie Carver attends the 73rd annual Tony Awards dressed in a black suit. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Jeremy Pope arrives on the red carpet dressed in an all-black outfit for this year's Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Fionnula Flanagan attends the 73rd annual Tony Awards in a blue sparkle dress with a slit. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Samira Wiley wears a bright emerald green dress on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Catherine O'Hara wears a unique black and white geometric dress on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Laura Linney wears a black one-shouldered gown on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Host James Corden and Julia Carey arrive at the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Cynthia Erivo attends the Tony Awards in a light purple gown with yellow feathers by Chris Gelinas. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Sarah Stiles attends the Tony Awards in a lavender dress accented with black and matching heels. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Dominique Morisseau opts for a red dress with a high slit on the red carpet for the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Anna Wintour opts for a green gown with statement sleeves for the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita pose on the Tony Awards red carpet. Mikita wore a cowboy-themed ensemble for the award show, complete with a turquoise bolo tie. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Darren Criss attends the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Darren Criss and Mia Swier pose on the red carpet at the 73rd annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Sarah Kate Ellis wears a light pink ball gown for the award show. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Jordan Roth chose an all-red ensemble for the Tony Awards. Getty Images Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Tina Fey wears a gold jacket with matching pants on the Tony Awards red carpet. The comedian accessorised with a matching black, white and red clutch. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Kristin Chenoweth wears a black mini dress on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Marisa Tomei wears a colourful bustier gown on the red carpet with a floral print. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Bryan Cranston and Robin Dearden pose on the red carpet. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Regina King wears a bright pink ruched gown on the red carpet at this year's Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro Tony Awards 2019 Best-Dressed Lucy Liu attends the Tony Awards in a purple tulle gown. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro

After graduating from New York University, Stroker was in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, as well as The Glee Project and Glee on TV.

Stroker made her Broadway debut in a revival of Spring Awakening in 2015, becoming the first Broadway actor who uses a wheelchair.

She dedicated her win on Sunday to every child who has a disability and has been waiting to see themselves represented in theatre.

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The 31-year-old has said she believes it’s high time disabled people are represented on stages and sound stages authentically, noting that one in five Americans lives with a disability.