Lea Michele

Lea Michele Sarfati, known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She began her career as a child performer on stage and gained mainstream prominence playing Rachel Berry on the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee from 2009 to 2015. Her performance in the show earned her nominations for an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards, as well as a Satellite Award and two People's Choice Awards.

Michele was born in The Bronx, New York, to Edith Thomasina, a retired nurse, and Mark David Sarfati, a real estate agent and former delicatessen owner. She grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, and attended Tenafly High School. She made her Broadway debut at age eight in 1995 as a replacement for Cosette in Les Misérables. Her early stage work included roles in the Broadway productions of Ragtime (1997–1999) and Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005). In 2006, she originated the role of Wendla Bergmann in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Following her success on Glee, Michele pursued film, television, and recording projects. She made her feature film debut in New Year's Eve (2011) and voiced Dorothy Gale in the animated movie Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014). On television, she starred as Hester Ulrich in Fox's horror-comedy series Scream Queens (2015–2016), guest-starred on Sons of Anarchy in 2014, and appeared in the ABC sitcom The Mayor and Hulu's Dimension 404 in 2017.

Michele launched her solo music career after signing with Columbia Records in 2012. Her debut album, Louder (2014), debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the lead single "Cannonball". She followed with the studio albums Places (2017), Christmas in the City (2019), and Forever (2021). Additionally, she authored two books published by Random House: the memoir Brunette Ambition (2014) and the self-help book You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life (2015).

In 2022, Michele returned to Broadway to star as Fanny Brice in the musical revival of Funny Girl, receiving widespread acclaim. She was subsequently cast as Florence in the 2025 Broadway revival of Chess, performing opposite Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher.