The Main and Supporting Actors of Glee
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- Actor
- Producer
- Director
It took a summer of acting in a children's theater group to convince Matthew Morrison that he wanted to become an actor. He auditioned and attended Orange County High School of the Arts, and followed that with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, although he didn't enjoy his college foray. Despite a regulation that students couldn't audition in the first two years at NYU, he got himself an agent and dropped out from NYU. His musical debut was in the musical version of Footloose (1984), which was then followed by "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." His big break, however, was in "Hairspray" when he landed the part of "Link Larkin." It was after this role that he made a debut into the television and film world, with small roles in Sex and the City (1998), Hack (2002), Encino Man (1992), and others. His self-proclaimed favorite role he did in television was in Once Upon a Mattress (2005), a musical for TV that starred Carol Burnett. He was nominated for a Tony for his role in "The Light in the Piazza" and eventually left the show in late 2005. He dabbled some more in roles among the television, film, and theater world. After starring in the Lincoln Center production of "South Pacific" as "Lieutenant Cable" in 2008, he took on the role of "Will Schuester" in the upcoming Fox series Glee (2009), which premiers in fall 2009.Will- Actor
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Chris Colfer is a very talented actor and vocalist who was born on May 27, 1990 in Fresno, California, USA as Christopher Paul Colfer. He is an actor, known for Glee (2009-2015), Struck by Lightning (2012), and The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. His break out role was as Kurt Hummel in Glee, for which he won a Golden Globe (2010) and was tapped for New York Times 100 Most Influential People. Colfer is also a New York Times Best Selling author and wrote/produced Struck By Lightning.Kurt- Actress
- Producer
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Jane Marie Lynch is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series Glee (2009-2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recognition for her roles in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films, such as Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006).Sue Sylvester- Actress
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Lea Michele Sarfati was born in the Bronx, New York to Edith Thomasina (Porcelli), a nurse, and Mark David Sarfati, a delicatessen owner-turned-real estate agent. Her mother is of Italian descent (from Rome and Naples), and her father is of Sephardi Jewish ancestry (from Turkey and Greece). Lea was raised Catholic in Tenafly, New Jersey and graduated from Tenafly High School.
At age eight, Lea went with a friend to an open casting call for an up-and-coming musical. After spontaneously deciding to audition, she was offered the role and, two weeks later, she was starring on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in 1995 as a replacement for the role of Young Cosette in "Les Misérables". She was then cast in the role of Tateh's daughter, the Little Girl, in the 1998 original Broadway cast of "Ragtime", and in 2004 she portrayed Shprintze and understudied the role of Chava in the Broadway revival of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof".
When she was 14, Lea was given the role of Wendla Bergmann in Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's musical version of "Spring Awakening". She starred in early workshops, off-Broadway, and finally originated the role in the Broadway production at age 20. Around the same time that the show was set to go to Broadway, Lea was offered the role of Éponine Thénardier in the Broadway revival of "Les Misérables". She chose to remain with "Spring Awakening", which debuted on Broadway in December 2006. She was later nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. After two years of starring in "Spring Awakening", Lea left the show with co-star Jonathan Groff, to pursue other opportunities.
In late 2008, Lea won the role of Rachel Berry on the comedy-drama series Glee (2009), and since the show's premiere on May 19, 2009, has received worldwide critical acclaim for her performance. She received the 2009 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Series - Comedy or Musical, and later won three People's Choice Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Along with her award wins, Lea also received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations.Rachel- Actor
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Cory Monteith was born on May 11, 1982 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as Cory Allan Michael Monteith. He was an actor, known for playing the singing jock Finn on the American TV show Glee (2009) and films such as Monte Carlo (2011), and Final Destination 3 (2006). He died on July 13, 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Finn- Actress
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Jenna Ushkowitz was born on 28 April 1986 in Seoul, South Korea. She is an actress and producer, known for Glee (2009), Yellow Fever (2017) and Hello Again (2017). She has been married to David Stanley since 24 July 2021. They have one child.Tina- Actress
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Dianna Elise Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia to Mary and Ronald Agron and grew up in a middle-class family in Savannah before moving to Texas and, later, San Francisco, California, because her father was a general manager for Hyatt. Dianna and her brother Jason were raised Jewish and she graduated from Burlingame High School with honors.
While Dianna was growing up, she spent much of her time performing. She began dancing at age three, focusing mainly on jazz and ballet; she later began hip-hop dancing. She also appeared in many local musical-theater productions.
After graduating from high school, Dianna decided to pursue acting as a career and began appearing in commercials and television shows including CSI: NY (2004), Numb3rs (2005), Veronica Mars (2004), and Heroes (2006). In 2009, she won the role of high-school cheerleader Quinn Fabray on the FOX television series Glee (2009). Since the hit television show's premiere on May 19th, 2009, she and her castmates have received critical praise for well as her fellow cast mates, have received critical praise for their incredible work. In addition to her work on, Glee (2009), Dianna has ventured into films, such as Burlesque (2010), where she had the opportunity to star alongside Christina Aguilera, Cher, and Stanley Tucci, and the action thriller I Am Number Four (2011). There is no doubt that her beautiful talent will shine for years to come.Quinn- Actor
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Darren Criss was born on 5 February 1987 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Little White Lie (2009), Glee (2009) and A Very Potter Musical (2009). He has been married to Mia Swier since 16 February 2019. They have one child.Blaine- Actor
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Known for starring as musically-inclined football player Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the show Glee (2009), Mark Wayne Salling was born in Dallas, Texas. He was the younger of two children of Condy Sue (Wherry), a school secretary, and John Robert Salling, Jr., an accountant. He was home-schooled at an early age. Salling was raised in a "strict Christian home" and attended Providence Christian School and Our Redeemer Lutheran during elementary school. He attended, but did not graduate, from Culver Military Academy, and later graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2001. While in high school, he was a member of the school wrestling team. Music was also an integral part of his teenage years; he often performed in bars despite being underage and participated in school talent shows. After graduating from high school, he attended the Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in Pasadena, California and began studying guitar, giving guitar lessons to make a living. Mark owned a dog named Noah, which he named after his character on Glee.
He died on January 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.Puck- Actor
- Music Department
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Kevin McHale was born on 14 June 1988 in Plano, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Glee (2009), True Blood (2008) and Katy Perry: Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (2011).Artie- Actress
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Amber Riley was born on 15 February 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Glee (2009), The Wiz Live! (2015) and Glee: Director's Cut Pilot Episode (2009).Mercedes- Actress
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Heather Elizabeth Morris is an American actress born in Thousand Oaks, CA. Daughter to Jeannie and Stan Morris, Heather grew up in Scottsdale, AZ, and started her love for dancing when she was merely still in diapers. Growing up, she spent her days dreaming of becoming a star, recording herself on her parents old tape recorder and performing Britney Spears at her middle school talent show; she was never not performing. In 2003, Heather booked it to Los Angeles and competed with her dance group on the Arsenio Hall Variety Show, Star Search, and in 2006, Heather's talent landed her in the top 40 on FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.
After spending only two semesters at Arizona State University, in 2006 Heather officially moved out to Los Angeles and began auditioning, landing her first dance job as Beyoncé's back up dancer on 'The Beyonce Experience' World Tour nearly 6 months after making her big decision.
In 2009, Heather began studying at the Meisner school for Acting "Playhouse West" in Los Angeles. She was given the opportunity by choreographer Zach Woodlee to audition for Ryan Murphy in the upcoming Fox comedy Glee, and after two failed attempts...Heather learned she landed the role of "Brittany S. Pierce" strictly because of her incredible dancing capabilities. Heather has worked on productions like the Blue Sky franchise Ice Age and Harmony Korrine's feature Spring Breakers. She is an Executive Producer for The Bystanders Podcast, starring Jane Lynch, Kristin Chenoweth, Oscar Nunez and Michael Hitchcock.Brittany- Actress
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Naya Rivera was an Afro-Latina American actress, model and singer known for playing Santana Lopez from Glee and Hillary Winston from The Royal Family. She also was in The Master of Disguise, Baywatch, CSI: Miami, American Dad, Batman: The Long Halloween Parts 1 and 2, Even Stevens and The Bernie Mac Show.Santana- Actor
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Harry Shum Jr. (born April 28, 1982) is a Costa Rican-born Chinese American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He is best known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series Glee (2009-15) and as Magnus Bane on the Freeform television series Shadowhunters (2016-19). He was nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance in Glee, winning once. He won the award for The Male TV Star of 2018 in the E! People's Choice Awards for Shadowhunters.Mike- Actress
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Jamia Suzette Mays was born in Bristol, Tennessee, to Susan (Norris) and James Mays, and was raised in Grundy, Virginia with her older brother and sister. Her father was a high school teacher at Grundy Senior High School for seven years, before spending 25 years working in the coal-mining industry. He is now retired and lives with Jayma's mother in Bristol.
At school, Jayma enjoyed Math and singing. She graduated from high school in 1997. She then went on to get an Associate degree from Southwest Virginia Community College. She then did a year at Virginia Tech, transferring to Radford University. After earning her degree in Theatre in 2000, she moved to California.
She started out with an internship with actor Timothy Busfield, of the television series Thirtysomething (1987). In 2004, she had her screen television debut on Joey (2004). Her first feature film came, a year later, in Red Eye (2005). Her breakthrough role came when she won the role of "Emma Pillsbury" on the hit show Glee (2009).Emma- Actor
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Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Iqbal Theba came to the US as a college freshman at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. While in college in Oklahoma, Iqbal studied Civil Engineering and eventually obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Engineering Management. After realizing his true passion was acting, Iqbal returned to the University of Oklahoma to study acting. Thoroughly enjoying his time in Oklahoma (he is a true Sooner football fan) and after leaving college, Iqbal decided to move to New York City to pursue his love of acting. After struggling in New York for over two years, Iqbal decided to make the move to Los Angeles in hopes of more acting work. Broke and not knowing anyone in Los Angeles, Iqbal stayed with friends in San Bernardino until he could save up enough money to finally move full-time to Los Angeles.
Once in Los Angeles, things started to turn around for Iqbal. He soon found a niche acting in television commercials. His first big commercial was for the Wherehouse Music Chain, where he sang the Chris Isaak song "Wicked Game". This was followed by commercials for McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, AT&T, Sprint, American Express, Capital One, Holiday Inn, Kellogg's Cereal, Tostitos, Got Milk, and many others. Iqbal was the first South Asian to have appeared in dozens of mainstream national commercials in the '90s. It was through these television commercials that he was able to get his SAG card, which opened the door to more mainstream television and film opportunities.
Iqbal's big television break came after booking a role on the NBC pilot "Death and Taxes" (his second job in Los Angeles as an actor). Although the pilot wasn't picked up, this led to numerous co-starring and guest-starring roles in television and film, including work on TV shows such as "L.A. Law", "Living Single", "Mad About You", and "Seinfeld". Over the next 10 years, Iqbal continued to hone his craft and work guest starring on television shows such as "Ellen", "Caroline in the City", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Friends", "King of the Hill", "The West Wing", "Judging Amy", "Alias", "Arrested Development", and "Weeds", to name a few, as well as recurring roles on "The George Carlin Show", "Sister, Sister", "Rosanne", "Married With Children", "Family Matters", "ER", "JAG", and "Life With Bonnie". Some of Iqbal's film work includes "Indecent Proposal", "Driven", "BASEketball", "Dancing at the Blue Iguana", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Playing for Keeps".
After successfully establishing himself as one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood, Iqbal's big break came from his being cast as Principal Figgins in the hugely successful FOX television series "Glee". Although originally written for a Caucasian, Iqbal won the role and has in the process brought his own unique perspective to the character. As the beleaguered principal of William McKinley High School, Principal Figgins tries to walk the tightrope between being fair with teacher Will Schuster (Matthew Morrison) while being constantly blackmailed and harassed by coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch). In addition to "Glee", Iqbal is also simultaneously starring in the NBC series "Community" playing Danny's dad.
2010 has proven to be a busy and successful year for Iqbal. He started the year off by winning a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for his work on "Glee", continues filming new episodes of "Glee" and "Community", and is looking at several feature film offers. In addition to his acting career, Iqbal enjoys spending time with his wife Humera and their two children and traveling. His favorite writer is Anton Chekov, his favorite movie is "2001: A Space Odyssey", and works with his favorite charity, Edhi Foundation.Principal Figgins- Actor
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Born in Queens, New York and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Adler moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduating high school to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Max Adler, a cast member of the Golden Globe Winner for Best Television Series - Comedy (Glee) and a Screen Actors Guild Award nominee for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Glee) moved on from his groundbreaking role as the slushy throwing homophobic bully Dave Karofsky on Glee to tackle another controversial, buzzed about character, Tank, in the Peabody Award winning series Switched at Birth. Adler then worked with Woody Allen in Cafe Society, Clint Eastwood in Sully, was recently a lead in the film Mope, based on the shocking true story, which premiered at Sundance 2019, and can also be seen in front of the camera in Aaron Sorkin's Trial of the Chicago 7, which Adler also co-executive produced, and behind the camera as Executive Producer of Foster Boy. He has recurred on the final few seasons of The Flash on the CW, the soap opera Young & The Restless, and has guest starred in such shows as The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Bones, Criminal Minds, much more. Adler is also heavily involved with GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, constantly raising money and awareness.Dave- Actress
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Dot-Marie Jones was born on 4 January 1964 in Turlock, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Glee (2009), Bros (2022) and Greener Grass (2019). She has been married to Bridgett Casteen since 21 December 2013.Coach Beiste- Actress
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Ashley Fink was born in Houston, Texas and began acting at a very early age. By the time she reached the age of 2, she was putting on full productions for her parents: she was no dummy, though - she charged them admission. As luck would have it, her family ended up moving to Los Angeles where Ashley began attending a performing arts high school. From there, she began performing in a string of national tours as leads in The Wizard of Oz (as the Lion) and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (as Lucy), to name just two. Hollywood soon found Ashley when she starred in the Tribeca Film Festival hit, Fat Girls. The film won many awards for her, and Ashley enjoyed a international film festival tour. Since that time, Ms. Fink has made multiple TV appearances on many shows such as "ER", "Hung", "Huge", and most notably as fan favorite Lauren Zizes on FOX's hit show "Glee." Some of her personal favorite film credits include the indie horror, cult hit, All About Evil, as well as the Glee LIVE 3D Concert film. Ashley is very proud to be a major player in both the 24 Hour Plays and 24 Hour Musicals, both of which benefit urban arts education. Ashley has also recently broken into filmmaking herself by producing and starring in two short films that enjoyed their world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and 2014 respectively. She resides in Los Angeles with her cat, Fred.Lauren- Actress
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Idina Menzel was born on May 30, 1971 in New York City, New York as Idina Kim Mentzel. She's an American actress, singer & songwriter. She's best known as Maureen in Rent, Elphaba in Wicked & the voice of Elsa in Frozen (2013). Her mother Helene Goldberg was a therapist & her father Stuart Mentzel was a pajama salesman. Her grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Russia. She grew up in New Jersey & on Long Island. At 15, she started to work as a wedding & bar mitzvah singer. She attended Syosset High School & graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts w/ a degree in drama in 1992.
In 1996, she debuted in theater, originating the role of Maureen in Rent, which went from Off-Broadway to Broadway. This role also got Menzel her 1st Tony nomination. In 1998, she released her 1st album Still I Can't Be Still. She made her movie debut in 2001 when she played a minor role in Kissing Jessica Stein (2001). In 2003, she became 1 of the most popular Broadway performers when she originated the role of Elphaba in Wicked. This role brought her not only huge popularity & acclaim, but also a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
In 2005, she appeared in the Off-Broadway musical See What I Wanna See, earning Drama Desk Award & Drama League Award nominations. The same year, she reprised the role of Maureen in the movie adaptation of Rent (2005). In 2007, she appeared in Enchanted (2007). In 2013, she received another Tony nomination for her performance in If/Then. She voiced Elsa for the 1st time in Frozen (2013), a role she often reprises for sequels & tie-ins. In addition to theater, movie & TV appearances, she regularly releases new music & goes on tour.Shelby- Actress
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Lauren Potter was born on 10 May 1990 in Inland Empire, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Glee (2009), Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) and Guest Room (2015).Becky- Actor
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Michael Edward O'Malley is an American actor and writer who has appeared in films and television series. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game show Nickelodeon Guts before moving to Los Angeles later that decade to star in his own sitcom for NBC called The Mike O'Malley Show. He is best known for his role as Jimmy Hughes on Yes, Dear, a CBS series which aired from 2000 to 2006. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Burt Hummel on the Fox series Glee.Burt- Actor
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Chord Overstreet was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Julie (Miller), a make-up artist, and Paul Overstreet, a country musician and songwriter whose own father was a pastor. Chord and his five siblings were raised in a creative and music-filled environment, with their father highly involved in the music industry. His brother, Nash Overstreet, is in the band Hot Chelle Rae.
After Chord graduated from high school in 2007, he decided to pursue performing as a career from the encouragement and support of his parents, and from his talent of singing, acting, and playing instruments. Unfortunately, the first two to three years after high school were unsuccessful for Chord; only making small guest appearances on various television shows such as iCarly (2007) and Private (2009).
In early 2010, Chord received a call from his manager, urging him to audition for an open casting call for the FOX television series Glee (2009). After several callbacks and audition performances, Chord got the role of quarterback turned glee club member, Sam Evans, for the hit show. Since Chord's debut performance on the season premiere of the 2nd season of Glee (2009), he has received critical and commercial praise and success for his performance on the show, along with a large following of dedicated and loving fans.Sam- Actor
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Patrick Gallagher was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, and grew up in Chilliwack, BC. He is of Irish and Chinese descent. Gallagher graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1993. He began his career in Toronto working in the theater, in film and on television. In 2003 he gave a strong performance as Awkward Davies in Peter Weir's Oscar-nominated Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). His next role was Det. Joe Finn in the seventh season of the highly acclaimed Canadian television drama Da Vinci's Inquest (1998), carrying that character into the new series Da Vinci's City Hall (2005). He will also be remembered as Gary the Bartender in Alexander Payne's multi-award-winning Sideways (2004).
He is a big supporter of the independent film scene, and has played numerous roles in projects by emerging filmmakers. He resides in Los Angeles, and is a dual US/Canadian citizen.Ken- Actress
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Jessalyn Gilsig has an extensive list of theater credits to her name. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Gilsig received her theatrical training at the American Repertory Theatre's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Among the American Repertory Theatre projects in which she appeared are "The Cherry Orchard," "Henry V," "The Oresteia," "Tartuffe" and "The Tempest." She also appeared in the Alliance Theatre production of "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," and in numerous other live productions and television commercials.Terri- Actor
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Josh Sussman was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Glee (2009), Wizards of Waverly Place (2007) and Tangerine (2015).Jacob- Actor
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- Music Department
John Phillip Stamos was born in Cypress, California, to Loretta (Phillips), a model, and William Stamos, a restaurateur. His father was of Greek descent, with the family surname originally being "Stamotopoulos". John has two younger sisters, Janeen and Alaina, both school teachers. His first professional role was as Blackie Parrish on the daytime soap General Hospital (1963) from 1982-1984, for which he won two Soap Opera Digest Awards (1982 and 1983). In 1987 he began the role of Jesse on Full House (1987), which is his best-known role to date, spanning eight years. At his request, the writers of Full House (1987) gave his character the last name of Katsopolis, instead of the original character's name, Cochran, in order to highlight John's Greek heritage. He has played drums occasionally with The Beach Boys since 1985, and directed their "Hot Fun in the Summertime" video. He expanded his career to include the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in Broadway's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!" in 1995, showcasing not only his musical talents, but his dancing ability, as well. On September 19, 1998, he married model Rebecca Romijn, of MTV's House of Style (1989), which was the first marriage for both. They were officially divorced on March 1, 2005.Carl- Actor
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Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951 in Dallas, Texas. Over the past three decades, Tobolowsky has racked up a lengthy list of roles in movies and television across many different genres.
While Tobolowsky initially attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with the intention of studying geology, he was quickly drawn in to acting there. He later attended the University of Illinois for one year.
Tobolowsky worked primarily in theater during his early career, and wrote and directed a few plays including "Two Idiots in Hollywood" and "True Stories". His film career took off in the 1980s, though, thanks to roles in The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Nobody's Fool (1986), Spaceballs (1987), and Mississippi Burning (1988). Since then, Tobolowsky has appeared in many popular movies including Bird on a Wire (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), Groundhog Day (1993), Radioland Murders (1994), Murder in the First (1995), Mr. Magoo (1997), The Insider (1999), Memento (2000), Freaky Friday (2003), Garfield: The Movie (2004) and Wild Hogs (2007). He has also done a substantial amount of voice work, most recently taking on the role of Uncle Ubb in The Lorax (2012).
Tobolowsky has been even more prolific in television over the past few decades. He's appeared on a diverse range of shows including Seinfeld (1989), Mad About You (1992), Chicago Hope (1994), The Practice (1997) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), and has had recurring roles on CSI: Miami (2002), Deadwood (2004), Heroes (2006), Californication (2007) and Glee (2009).
Tobolowsky is married to fellow actor Ann Hearn.Sandy- Actor
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Jonathan Drew Groff is an American actor and singer. Known for his performances on screen, stage and television, Groff is the recipient of such accolades as a Grammy Award and has been nominated for two Tony Awards, two Drama League Awards, a Drama Desk Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.Jesse- Actress
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Kristin Chenoweth is an American stage, screen and television actress, though, depending on who you ask, Chenoweth fans may disagree on what her most famous roles are. Since Chenoweth began her career, she has been credited with roles in musicals and plays on and off-Broadway, on various television shows and can be seen in movies on television and the big screen. She has also lent her recognizable voice numerous times to animated features.
Chenoweth was born in the small town of Broken Arrow, OK. Soon after her birth, Chenoweth was adopted by Jerry and Junie Chenoweth. She is very open about her adoption and has been known to support various adoption causes and organizations around the U.S. Although Chenoweth knows the backgrounds of her birth parents, she has commented that she has little interest in meeting them. The Chenoweth family includes older brother Mark. Chenoweth graduated from Broken Arrow High School and went on to study Musical Theater at Oklahoma City University. Under the guidance of Florence Birdwell, Chenoweth flourished in stage and vocal performance. She later received her Master's Degree in Opera Performance at OCU.
An avid fan of all things Oklahoman, Chenoweth was inducted into the 2010 State Hall of Fame. Fans of Kristin Chenoweth, the stage actress, have seen her stealing performances in Steel Pier, Epic Proportions, and The Apple Tree. In 1999, Chenoweth received the Tony Award for her performance as "Sally" in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". Chenoweth is well-known as the originator of "Glinda" in the 2003 mega-hit musical "Wicked". The role, written with Chenoweth in mind, earned her a Tony Award Nomination amongst many other accolades. Chenoweth returned to Broadway in 2010, alongside Sean Hayes in the Broadway revival of "Promises, Promises". In January of 2007, Chenoweth became the third musical theater performer in history to have a solo performance at NYC's Metropolitan Opera. She has also performed with various Symphonies around the world. Chenoweth has recorded 3 studio albums. Those who know Kristin best from her various television performances remember her as the quirky, down on love, "Olive Snook" on Pushing Daisies (2007). The role won Ms. Chenoweth an Emmy Award in 2009 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The show, ultimately canceled shortly after its 2nd season, is still considered by Kristin to be one of her favorite characters to play.
In 2001, Chenoweth starred in the short-lived NBC comedy Kristin (2001). She has also been seen on The West Wing (1999), Ugly Betty (2006) and has a recurring role on Fox's Glee (2009) as the recovering alcoholic has-been, but lovable "April Rhodes" . Her appearances on "Glee" earned her a 3rd Emmy nomination. Most recently, Ms. Chenoweth had a small part in the 2010 comedy, You Again (2010). She has also had roles in Four Christmases (2008), Deck the Halls (2006), Running with Scissors (2006) and link=tt0420223]. In 2009, Chenoweth took on the challenging role as "Linda" in the film, Into Temptation (2009). Ms. Chenoweth is bi-coastal, spending a good amount of time in both New York and Los Angeles.April- Actor
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Jake Zyrus (known as Charice Pempengco prior to his gender transition) was born in Cabuyao, Philippines. When he was three years old, he witnessed his abusive father point a gun at his mom during an episode of domestic violence. Along with his mother and younger brother Carl, they left their father searching for a better life.
Zyrus was very young when his mother noted that his rendition of Happy Birthday was very high-pitched and on-key. When he was four years old, his mother Raquel came home to discover Zyrus standing on top of the kitchen table singing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. She initially thought the radio was on, and Celine was singing. Zyrus had learned to operate the karaoke machine by observing his mother, who was a singer in a band, practice with her bandmates. It was then that Zyrus' singing talent was discovered.
At the age of seven, with money hard to come by and with little food to put on the table, Zyrus urged his mother to teach him how to sing and let him join singing contests to help support their family. He went around the provinces of Laguna and Batangas, entering amateur singing contests in town fiestas and later, on little known shows on television. He started winning most of the competitions he joined, often borrowing money from friends and neighbors for the bus fare and then paying them back after winning. He estimates he joined 80-100 singing contests all in all.
In 2005 when he was twelve years old, he joined Little Big Star, a singing contest for children on TV network ABS-CBN, loosely patterned after American Idol. He was eliminated after the first round but was called back as a wild card contestant later on in the show. From there, he was a consistent top scorer in the elimination rounds but only wound up as a third placer in the finals due to low text votes. Dejected as he was counting on winning the grand prize of P1 million pesos ($20,000) for his family, he wanted to give up on singing. He made minor appearances on TV shortly after Little Big Star, dancing backup and singing in the background on variety shows, but he had fallen off the radar. He eventually decided to give it all up and return to regular schooling.
Little did he know that David Dueñas (a.k.a FalseVoice), a fan of him, was so in awe of his powerful vocals and performances on Little Big Star that he started uploading them on YouTube. His videos were racking up millions of hits online, and one of his videos caught the eye of StarKing, a Korean variety show. In 2007, StarKing invited then 15-year old Zyrus to come to South Korea to perform. Dressed in pink and wearing pigtails, Zyrus blew the roof off the set as he performed a hair-raising and powerful rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. The studio audience was floored to hear such a big voice coming out of such a small child.
The video of that StarKing performance went viral on YouTube, garnering millions of views until the producers of The Ellen Degeneres Show took notice. Ellen aired an on-air invitation for Zyrus to come to her show. A month later, in December 2007, Zyrus and his mother flew to America for the first time to appear on the show, where Zyrus sang And I Am Telling You and Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. The audience was blown away, giving Zyrus the first two standing ovations she had ever received in his life. Zyrus went home to the Philippines, an instant celebrity.
In May 2008, Zyrus was invited to guest on Oprah, for a themed show called World's Smartest Kids. He sang "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston and bought the audience to their feet, giving him another standing ovation. No one was more impressed than Oprah Winfrey herself, though, incredulously asking him, "Girl, that was fantastic! Who are you?!"
The next day, Charice and his mother were already on a plane waiting to take off for the Philippines when Oprah called to stop the plane and bring them back to her office. Oprah had been so impressed with the child and couldn't get him off her mind. Oprah listened to Zyrus' story and told him, "Don't lose hope. I promise you something big will happen." She then called legendary music producer David Foster who took Zyrus on under his wing.
Zyrus, as David Foster's protégé, suddenly found himself singing duets with Andrea Bocelli in Italy and with his idol Celine Dion in Madison Square Garden. He also shared the stage with other big names such as Michael Buble and Josh Groban. He performed at three of President Barack Obama's pre-inauguration galas and made a cameo appearance as himself in 2009's Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. He also appeared on the Oprah show three more times after his initial appearance, the most recent one being last May 11, 2010, a day after his 18th birthday, to debut his international album CHARICE. His single Pyramid with singer Iyaz topped the Billboard Dance chart at #1. During its first week, his album sales landed him in the #8 spot on the US Billboard Hot 200 chart, making him the first-ever Asian artist in history to enter the Billboard top 10.
In June 2010, it was announced that Zyrus landed a recurring guest role on the hit TV series Glee, playing the character of Sunshine Corazon, a Filipino foreign exchange student to rival actress Lea Michele's character, Rachel Berry.Sunshine Corazon- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Romy Rosemont was born in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), An American Crime (2007) and Congo (1995). She has been married to Stephen Root since 14 December 2008.Carole