Lea Michele

Lea Michele

 * Name = Lea Michele
 * Position = New York
 * Age = 27 (August 29, 1986)
 * Status = In an relationship with Cory Monteith
 * Play as = Rachel Berry

Lea Michele Sarfati (born August 29, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She portrays Rachel Berry on FOX's hit TV show, Glee. Lea has worked on the show for four seasons now. She is the 7th member of the cast to announce that she is working on a solo album. On October 19th, 2012 she announced that she was in the studio recording her first song for her album. In an interview with Perez Hilton she said her album will have a lot of 'Kelly Clarkson' type ballads.

Personal life
Born in the Bronx, New York, Michele had no early ambition to be a singer. Her lucky break came when she tagged along with a friend to an open audition for a Broadway musical and as they say, fate stepped in. Michele was just eight when she landed her first Broadway role as Young Cosette in the New York production of Les Misérables. Three years later, Michele played The Little Girl in the original Broadway cast of Ragtime alongside Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. She later played Shprintze (u/s Chava) in Fiddler on the Roof and the title character in The Diary of Anne Frank.

However, it was her role as fourteen-year-old Wendla Bergman in the new musical Spring Awakening that changed her life. Nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, Michele won rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike. While on the west coast, she went along to audition for some television pilots. The second one she read for was Glee, and she was instantly cast as high school vocal diva Rachel Berry. Making the transition from theatre to television, Michele has continued to wow fans with her powerhouse lead vocals. This young actress has been nominated for two Golden Globes, an Emmy and a Teen Choice Award. She went on to win a Satellite Award in the Best Actress category, a People's Choice Award for favorite actress in a comedy and also shared a Screen Actors Guild award for an Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Child Star: Michele has virtually grown up onstage, making her Broadway debut at age 8 as Young Cosette in Les Miserables. Landing the role from an open call, the young actress has hardly stopped working since, going from Les Miz to the Toronto and Broadway companies of Ragtime, followed by a brief stint in high school ("It was my fun, normal time!" she quips) and then the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. "I've kinda had to grow up fast," Michele says frankly, "but it’s made me who I am. I have some awesome friends from high school, and I’ve also been able to work with people like Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell—I mean, come on! I wouldn’t change any of it. This is exactly where I want to be."

Sounds of Spring: Michele's journey with Spring Awakening began at 14 when she originated the role of Wendla in the first workshop. Since then, she's remained one of the only constants in the show's development. The other constant: Duncan Sheik's acclaimed contemporary rock score, which Michele declares she's "obsessed" with. "I was raised on the classic Broadway shows, but there’s another side of me that's listening to Kelly Clarkson and rockin' out to pop music," she says. "That's the amazing thing about this show—the way that I grew up listening to Alanis Morissette's Ironic or the way that girls blast Since U Been Gone is the same way you can blast Bitch of Living or Don't Do Sadness. There's a song in Spring Awakening for every single kid out there going through all of the issues of growing up. That's why I'm most proud to be part of this show."

Baring It All: Michele has some of the most intense moments in Spring Awakening, including a controversial sex scene at the end of Act 1. Michele's character Wendla ends up topless onstage as she and costar Jonathan Groff's character Melchior explore their sexuality for the first time. "People like to focus on that scene," she says. "I always get questions like 'How does it make you feel? How do your parents feel?' You know what? It's a sex scene. It's risky, but I am so comfortable working with [co-star] Jonathan Groff. He makes it easy for me." She's quick to point out that every cast member gets a moment to bare their souls onstage before the end of the show: "I don't consider [the sex scene] any more challenging or intense or risky than anything anyone else does on the stage," she explains. "Everyone is putting themselves out there."

Eponine or Wendla?: Michele faced a dilemma most young actresses would dream of—whether to play Eponine in the revival of Les Miserables (she was cast during rehearsals for Spring Awakening's off-Broadway run) or follow Sheik and company uptown. "I can't express to you how much I love Les Mis," she says. "I grew up with it. It will always be important to me. But after working on Wendla for six years, I felt I owed it to her and myself and the creative team to take this next step." She remains hopeful of getting another chance to sing "On My Own" one day. "Maybe they'll revive it a third time. Why not?" she says with a smile. Role Model: Asked about her dream roles, the sprightly young actress speaks first of her favorite leading lady. "I'm such a fan of Idina Menzel!" Michele exclaims. "I think she's made a wonderful career in this business. I love her so much, and any role she's played, I'd love to be able to follow in her footsteps." Indeed, the "L" word becomes a refrain when Michele talks about her future onstage. "I love the theater!" she says with joy. "I'd love to be able to play all different roles, whether it's Maureen in Rent or Maria in West Side Story. I would just love to be involved in this business forever."

Lea landed her first movie roles with New Year's Eve (2011) and Dorothy of Oz (2012). In the movie New Year's Eve Lea played the role of Elise, who is a back up singer for Jon Bon Jovi. Dorothy of Oz, it is an upcoming computer-animated film based on the book by Roger Stanton Baum by the same name, Lea will be playing the title role of Dorothy Gale.

Lea guest mentored on the Season Two's premiere of The Glee Project.

Lea was dating her Glee co-star Cory Monteith until his death in July 2013 and Lea Michele is Bestfriends with former Glee co-star Jesse St-James who is portrayed by Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele knew Jenna Ushkowitz who plays Tina Cohen-Chang since she was 7 years old also Lea Michele was room-mates with glee co-star Dianna Agron who plays Quinn Fabray