Lea Michele: Recent News

May 08, 2013

Lea Michele & Cory Monteith Sun Themselves in Mexico

May 06, 2013

Which Couple Are You Looking Out for at the Met Gala?

May 02, 2013

Cory Monteith, Lea Michele Cheer Canucks in His Hometown

Apr 26, 2013

Cory Monteith Completes Rehab, Reunites with Lea Michele

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Lea Michele: Snapshot

Name: Lea Michele
Date of Birth: August 29, 1986
Birth Place: New York, N.Y.

At 24, Lea Michele has gone from Broadway veteran to Glee diva and Emmy-nominated actress – thanks in large part to her powerhouse voice and enviable red carpet style!

Before hitting all the right notes at McKinley High, Michele graduated from her own high school with a slew of Broadway credits under her belt: she played Young Cosette in Les Misérables at age 8; starred in Ragtime and Fiddler on the Roof; and fought against sexual repression in the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening. But it's her divalicious role as Rachel Berry on Glee that's earned the budding fashionista Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, as well as a spot on Time's 100 most influential list.

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Lea Michele: Video

Package Video

The Golden Globes, meeting the President and (gulp!) performing at Radio City – the Glee star reveals her most "awesome" moments so far

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Lea Michele: Five Fun Facts

Lea Michele got into a car accident en route to her Glee audition. "I was turning into the FOX lot and a car hit me," she told PEOPLE. "But coming from the Broadway world, there's no excuses – that made me leave the car in the street and run up to the audition."
Growing up, Lea Michele looked to Barbra Streisand as a beauty icon. "I remember…thinking, 'Finally, someone who has a Jewish nose, who didn't get a nose job,'" she told the New York Daily News.
When Lea Michele first moved to L.A., her main goal was to land a guest spot on Grey's Anatomy.
Lea Michele went partially nude for her role on Broadway's Spring Awakening. "When my dad would come, I would not expose myself that night. For. Sure," she told Allure.
A devout animal lover, Lea Michele is a vegan. "I'm part of a traditional Italian family, so when I became a vegan, my mother learned how to make a version of lasagne I could still enjoy," she told InStyle.

Lea Michele: Biography

1994: Broadway Beginnings
At 8, Michele accompanies a friend to an open casting call for Broadway's Les Misérables, where she lands the role of Young Cosette. "I didn't know I could sing until I auditioned for Les Misérables," she tells Glamour. "My mother was like, 'You can't sing.' I'd never tried!" When she outgrows the role, the budding stage star follows up her debut with Ragtime in 1998 and Fiddler on the Roof in 2004.
2006: December 10
Leading Lady
Michele matures from child actor to stage ingénue with the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening. The coming-of-age rock musical, costarring Jonathan Groff, earns rave reviews and a Tony Award for best musical in 2007 – a year before Michele exits the show to pursue work in Hollywood.
2009: A Glee-ful Start
Michele jumps from stage to TV, playing neurotic glee club diva Rachel Berry in the FOX musical hit, Glee. "It was written for her," co-creator Ryan Murphy says of the role. "We had the prototype, which was a Reese Witherspoon Election-esque Broadway baby that was a mix of Barbra Streisand and Patti LuPone. I really believed in Lea's talent because her talent was once in a lifetime."