Lea Michele: Biography

By CelebPaid Editorial Team · 10 min read

Lea Michele.Image via Wikimedia Commons

Who Is Lea Michele?

Lea Michele Sarfati ( LEE-ə mish-EL; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. 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 found prominence playing Rachel Berry on the Fox series Glee (2009–2015), receiving nominations for an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. She also contributed to music recorded for the series, which spawned multiple hits on the Billboard charts and earned her a Grammy Award nomination.

Michele made her feature film debut in New Year's Eve (2011). She starred as Hester Ulrich on the TV series Scream Queens (2015–2016) on Fox, and as Valentina Barella on the ABC sitcom The Mayor (2017). In 2012, she was signed to Columbia Records and released her debut single in 2013, "Cannonball". Next, her debut studio album, Louder (2014), came out, debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. In 2017, she released her second studio album, Places. In 2019, she released Christmas in the City, her third album, and in 2021 released her fourth studio album, Forever. Michele has also published two books, Brunette Ambition (2014) and You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life (2015).

In 2022, Michele returned to Broadway starring as Fanny Brice in the musical revival of Funny Girl, and received widespread acclaim for her performance. She starred as Florence in the 2025 Broadway revival of Chess opposite Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher until June 21, 2026.

Early Life: Where Is Lea Michele From?

Early life and education

Lea Michele Sarfati was born in The Bronx, New York. She is the only child of Edith Thomasina (née Porcelli), a retired nurse, and Mark David Sarfati, a real estate agent and former delicatessen owner. Her mother is Italian American with ancestors from Rome and Naples, while her father is a Sephardic Jew with Judaeo-Spanish-speaking ancestors from Thessaloniki, Greece. Most of the Jews in Thessaloniki were killed during the Holocaust, including Michele's great-great-grandmother. Michele grew up with her mother's Catholic faith, and has said that her father "gladly" attended Mass with them. Until she was 4 she lived in the Bronx and her parents moved to a more suburban area, Tenafly, New Jersey. The family also rented an apartment in Manhattan, where they lived when Michele was performing on Broadway. Michele went to Rockland Country Day School for elementary school in Congers, New York.

Michele began using her middle name as a last name at an early age. When she went on her first audition, for the role of Cosette in Les Misérables, she gave her name as Lea Michele and has used it professionally ever since. She said that she intentionally did not use her surname because she was teased about its pronunciation. During the audition, she sang "Angel of Music" from The Phantom of the Opera – the only musical she knew at the time. Michele went along to support a friend, but ended up landing the part herself. In 1997, she was homeschooled while living and working in Toronto, where she performed in a production of Ragtime. For her high school education, Michele attended Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey. She was on the volleyball and debate teams, and participated in choir at the school. In her teens, when she was not working on the stage, she had a part-time job at a bat mitzvah dress shop. She also worked at her father's deli.

Lea Michele's Career and Major Works

Michele refrained from auditioning for Broadway roles during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years to focus on her education. In the summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002, she attended Stagedoor Manor, a renowned performing arts training center in the Catskills. At Stagedoor, she was part of the touring troupe Our Time Cabaret, and performed in productions of Side by Side by Sondheim and The Who's Tommy. During her final summer at the camp, Michele was to perform in a production of Sweet Charity, but instead booked the role of Wendla Bergmann in a workshop of Spring Awakening, forcing her to drop out. She was later accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan, but opted instead to continue working professionally on the stage. When she was 19 years old, her mother Edith was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Edith received treatment from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

1995–2008: Beginnings and stage roles

Michele made her Broadway debut in 1995, at age 8, as a replacement in the role of Cosette in Les Misérables. She was also the understudy for the role of Gavroche followed by the role of the Little Girl in the 1998 original Broadway cast of Ragtime. She portrayed the part of the Little Girl for a year in the original Toronto cast, before the production transferred to Broadway. As a child, she voiced Christina, a main character in the animated film Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night, released on October 13, 1998. In 2004, Michele began portraying Shprintze in the Broadway revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and was the understudy for the role of Chava. She performed on the cast recording of the show.

Lea Michele's Personal Life and Relationships

Michele next played the role of Wendla Bergmann in Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's musical version of Spring Awakening, starring in early workshops and Off-Broadway performances, before finally originating the role in the 2006 Broadway production at 20. In February 2005, she performed as Wendla at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Around the same time that Spring Awakening was set to go to Broadway, Michele was offered the role of Éponine Thénardier in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables. She elected to remain with Spring Awakening, which premiered on Broadway in December 2006. For her performance, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In January 2008, she starred as Phoebe in a concert production of the musical Alive in the World, benefiting the Twin Towers Orphan Fund.

In April 2008, she performed a Flops n' Cutz concert at Joe's Pub in the East Village with her boyfriend at the time, stage actor Landon Beard. She debuted her solo cabaret Once Upon a Dream at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency. In May 2008, she and her co-star Jonathan Groff left the Broadway cast of Spring Awakening. She performed as Claudia Octavia in a reading of Sheik and Sater's new musical, Nero, in July 2008 at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. In August 2008, Michele portrayed Éponine in the Hollywood Bowl's Les Misérables concert, which was directed by Richard Jay-Alexander. She starred alongside Brian Stokes Mitchell, who played Javert, and John Lloyd Young, who played Marius Pontmercy, each of whom later guest-starred on Glee. While in Los Angeles for the Les Misérables concerts, she sang at the Upright Cabaret at Mark's Restaurant in Hollywood in August 2008. In September 2008, she performed at the benefit Broadway Chance Style: Up Close & Personal along with Laura Bell Bundy, Eden Espinosa, Kristoffer Cusick, and other stars.

2009–2012: Glee and mainstream success

Where Is Lea Michele Now? Recent Years

From 2009 until it ended in 2015, Michele starred in Glee, a Fox musical comedy-drama series, as Rachel Berry, the show's female lead and star singer. The role was written specifically for Michele by the show's co-creator Ryan Murphy. She won a number of awards for portraying Rachel, including the 2009 Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. She was also nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, and the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Michele was included on Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People In the World for 2010. In December 2010, she received Billboard's first-ever Triple Threat Award. Several songs performed by Michele on the show were released as singles available for digital download. Her cover of The All-American Rejects' song "Gives You Hell" reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. She was the lead singer for 14 of the top 20 best-selling Glee cast songs as of 2010. In 2011, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals ("Don't Stop Believin'") and Best Compilation Soundtrack Album (Glee: The Music, Volume 1). Also in 2011, Michele was nominated again for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. In 2012 and 2013, she won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress.

In May 2010, Michele and the cast of Glee embarked on a U.S. tour playing 10 shows in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City. The final show of 2010 was at Radio City Music Hall. Jonathan Groff, who played Michele's love interest Jesse St. James on the show, performed with her at the Los Angeles and New York City shows. Glee Live! In Concert! expanded in 2011 to include 22 shows across North America and nine shows in England and Ireland. The cast acted in character for the concerts, which received positive reviews.

Lea Michele's Legacy and Impact

In October 2010, Michele and co-star Matthew Morrison performed as Janet Weiss and Brad Majors, respectively, in the 35th anniversary benefit concert of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It benefited The Painted Turtle summer camp in Lake Hughes, California, and starred Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito. In February 2011, she performed at the Grammys' MusiCares Person of the Year event in Los Angeles, honoring Barbra Streisand. Michele sang "My Man" from the Streisand film Funny Girl. Before the Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011, she performed "America the Beautiful" with the United States Air Force group Tops In Blue. She then starred in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy film New Year's Eve playing Elise, a back-up singer and the love interest of Ashton Kutcher's character. The film was released worldwide on December 9, 2011.

2013–2016: Louder and Scream Queens

On September 18, 2012, it was announced that Michele would work on her first solo album. She began recordings for the album on October 19, 2012. She said that it was a "pretty slow process" and the album would be more "pop/rock driven" rather than Broadway influenced. On November 27, 2013, it was announced that the first single from her debut album Louder would be "Cannonball", which was released on December 10, 2013. "Cannonball" debuted at No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Michele became the first main Glee cast member to have a song chart as a lead soloist. The single sold more than 51,000 copies in its first week of sale. The music video was released on January 9, 2014. Michele then released four promotional singles in the lead-up to the album: "Battlefield", "Louder", "What Is Love?", and "You're Mine". Louder was released on February 28, 2014 and debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 4 selling more than 62,000 copies in its first week. The second single from the album, "On My Way", was released on May 4, 2014, and the music video premiered on May 19, 2014.

Michele voiced the lead role of Dorothy Gale in the animated musical film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return, which opened in North American theaters on May 9, 2014. In May 2013, it was announced that she had signed a deal with Harmony Books and Random House to pen a part memoir, part how-to book titled Brunette Ambition and the book was published on May 20, 2014. She had multiple book signings in the United States, including a signing and Q&A event hosted by Jonathan Groff. The book debuted at No. 9 on the Nonfiction Best Seller list a week after it was released, and debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list at No. 3. Michele released a second book, You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life, on September 22, 2015, which was also published by Random House.

In July 2014, it was announced that Michele would guest star in the final season of FX's drama series Sons of Anarchy, playing the role of Gertie, a truck stop waitress who connects with Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal). Michele's episode, "Smoke 'em If You Got 'em", aired on October 14, 2014. From 2015 to 2016, Michele starred in the Fox horror-comedy series Scream Queens, alongside original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, portraying the quirky, neck brace-wearing Hester Ulrich. She was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Actress in a New TV Series, and two Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Actress: Comedy and Choice TV: Villain for her performance in the role. On March 15, 2016, the charity single "This Is for My Girls", on which Michele was one of eight featured singers, was released as a charity single. The song, written by Diane Warren, benefited the White House's #62MillionGirls campaign and the Obama administration's Let Girls Learn initiative, set up by Michelle Obama, the First Lady.

2017–2021: Further television work and albums

Lea Michele's career continues to be documented by reputable media; the facts above are drawn from Wikipedia's biography and public records.

Frequently asked questions