Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati (born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. A soprano with a multi-octave vocal range, she is known for her performances on both screen and stage. Michele has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2010 and 2023. Born and raised in New York City, Michele is of Italian and Sephardic Jewish descent. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Les Misérables (1995–1996), Ragtime (1997–1999), Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005), and Spring Awakening (2006–2008). She rose to prominence portraying Rachel Berry, an ambitious high school student, on the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee (2009–2015). Her performance earned critical acclaim, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Along with the cast, Michele received three Grammy Award nominations for music from the series, which also produced multiple Billboard-charting singles. Michele made her feature film debut in New Year’s Eve (2011) and signed with Columbia Records in 2012. She released her debut single, “Cannonball,” in 2013, followed by her first studio album Louder (2014), which debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. Her second album, Places (2017), debuted at number 28, followed by the holiday album Christmas in the City (2019), and her fourth studio album Forever (2021). She has also authored two books: Brunette Ambition (2014) and You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life (2015). In 2022, Michele returned to Broadway to star as Fanny Brice in the revival of Funny Girl, earning widespread acclaim for her performance. She is set to return to the stage in 2025, starring as Florence in the first-ever Broadway revival of Chess, opposite Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher.
Known For
Credits
- 2023 · TIME100: The World's Most Influential People as Self - Performer
- 2022 · Spring Awakening: Those You've Known as Self - Wendla
- 2020 · The Drew Barrymore Show as Self
- 2019 · Same Time, Next Christmas as Olivia Anderson
- 2019 · A Little Late with Lilly Singh as Self
- 2019 · The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self - Musical Guest
- 2019 · The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- 2018 · LadyGang as Self
- 2018 · American Idol as Self - Special Guest
- 2018 · American Idol as Self
- 2017 · The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration as
- 2017 · The Mayor as Valentina Barella
- 2017 · Carpool Karaoke: The Series as Self
- 2017 · Dimension 404 as Amanda
- 2016 · Chelsea as Self
- 2015 · Scream Queens as Hester Ulrich
- 2014 · Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return as Dorothy (voice)
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self - Musical Guest
- 2012 · A MusiCares Tribute To Barbra Streisand as Self
- 2012 · Glee: Keep on Believin' as Self
- 2011 · New Year's Eve as Elise
- 2011 · Glee: The Concert Movie as Rachel Berry
- 2011 · The Glee Project as Self
- 2011 · Glee Encore as Rachel Berry
- 2010 · Conan as Self
- 2010 · One Night Only - Barbra Streisand and Quartet at the Village Vanguard as Audience
- 2010 · Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
- 2009 · The Cleveland Show as
- 2009 · The Dr. Oz Show as Self
- 2009 · Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- 2009 · Glee as Rachel Berry
- 2008 · Sons of Anarchy as Gertie
- 2007 · Chelsea Lately as Self
- 2006 · Spring Awakening as Wendela Bergmann
- 2005 · Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards as The Little Girl (segment "Ragtime") (archive footage)
- 1999 · Third Watch as Sammi
- 1999 · Teen Choice Awards as Self
- 1999 · Teen Choice Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1998 · Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night as Christina (voice)
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Sarah (voice)
- 1988 · LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self - Guest