
Lea Michele
9 FOLLOWERS • 26 CREDITS • AUG 29, 1986 • 38
Biography
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

The Daily Show

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Seth Meyers

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

The Simpsons

Carpool Karaoke: The Series

A Little Late with Lilly Singh

Chelsea

The Cleveland Show

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Teen Choice Awards

Sons of Anarchy

Third Watch

American Idol

Who Do You Think You Are?

LadyGang

Chelsea Lately

Dimension 404

The Glee Project

Scream Queens

Spring Awakening

Glee: The Concert Movie

Glee

Glee Encore

Glee: Keep on Believin'
Movies+ Discover & Track Movies
Never miss a movie again with Movies+, the simple tracker that keeps you updated on where to watch, stream, rent, or buy, while also alerting you to any production changes and new release dates of your favorite films!
Get
