Meredith Braun began her career as a child actor in her native New Zealand, before moving to England and acting in a number of West End musicals. As a child in Auckland, Braun appeared in numerous stage productions, plus occasional television shows and advertisements. In 1989 she earned a place at London's prestigious Italia Conti Stage College. She began her West End career six months later with a lead role in short-lived musical Bernadette at the Dominion Theatre. Cameron Mackintosh then cast Meredith as Eponine in Les Miserables a role she played in both London and Manchester. In 1993 she was cast as Betty Schaeffer in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard. Having been part of an audition process that involved 300 other potential actresses, Lloyd Webber said of Meredith "When I saw Meredith and heard her I knew she was going to be a star". Further shows in the West End included starring as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, plus 'Out Of The Blue' and 'Killing Rasputin'. Between 2000-2001 Meredith starred as Lily in the RSC's production of The Secret Garden at both the Theatre Royal Stratford and the Aldwych Theatre, London.