Alex Newell

Alex Eugene Newell is an American actor and singer born on August 20, 1992. Newell is best known for portraying Wade "Unique" Adams on the Fox musical series Glee and Mo on NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. On stage, Newell made a Broadway debut as Asaka in the revival of Once on This Island and later starred as Lulu in the musical comedy Shucked, winning a Tony Award.

Newell was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. Following the death of Newell's father when Newell was six years old, Newell was raised by a single mother. Newell attended KIPP Lynn Academy and graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in 2012, where Newell participated in choir, improv, and costume clubs. Newell also sang in and directed the youth choir at Zion Baptist Church. Before appearing on Glee, Newell had no formal voice lessons and drew inspiration from musical influences including Donna Summer, Sylvester, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Beyoncé.

In 2011, Newell joined Oxygen's competition show The Glee Project, finishing as first runner-up. This led to a guest role on Glee as Wade "Unique" Adams, a transgender teenager. Newell's character became one of the first visible transgender figures on network prime-time television. Originally cast for a brief arc, Newell returned as a recurring cast member for the fourth season and was promoted to the main cast for the fifth season. For their performance, Newell shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination in 2012 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and received a special recognition award at the 2015 GLAAD Media Awards with the Glee cast.

In addition to television, Newell pursued a music career, signing with Big Beat Records in 2013. Newell released a debut single, a cover of "Nobody to Love," in 2014, followed by vocal features on Clean Bandit's "Stronger," Blonde's "All Cried Out," and The Knocks' "Collect My Love." In February 2016, Newell released the debut extended play Power, featuring the single "This Ain't Over." Newell supported Adam Lambert on The Original High Tour in 2016 and recorded "Kill the Lights" with DJ Cassidy, Nile Rodgers, and Jess Glynne for the HBO series Vinyl. Newell has also performed at events such as Coachella, the Governors Ball Music Festival, and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.

Newell made a Broadway debut in 2017 playing Asaka in Once on This Island at the Circle in the Square Theatre. In 2019, Newell was cast as Mo, a genderfluid DJ, on NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, later reprising the role in the 2021 Roku Channel film Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas. Newell then starred as Lulu in Shucked at the Nederlander Theatre from April 2023 to January 2024. For this performance, Newell won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, becoming one of the first openly non-binary actors to win a Tony Award alongside J. Harrison Ghee.

Newell gave a solo concert debut at Cadogan Hall in London in September 2024, featuring guest performer Marisha Wallace. Offstage, Newell frequently performs at benefit concerts for organizations including The Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Ally Coalition. Newell is gender nonconforming, identifies as gay, and uses all pronouns.