Audra McDonald

At 5'8" and 134 lbs, with a slim build and natural 34B bust, Audra McDonald carries herself with the poise of a Broadway veteran. She is an American actress and singer, born in West Berlin, Germany, where her father, a high school principal, was stationed with the U.S. Army. Her mother worked as a university administrator. The family later settled in Fresno, California, where Audra grew up with a younger sister. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and studied classical singing at Juilliard, graduating in 1993.

A year later, she won her first Tony Award for her role in Carousel. In 1998, she released her debut solo album, Way Back to Paradise. Her first Emmy nomination came in 2001 for Wit. In 2006, she made her opera debut in La Voix humaine at the Houston Grand Opera. By 2014, she had amassed six Tony Awards, becoming the first person to win in all four acting categories. She planned a West End debut in 2016 but postponed it for maternity leave, eventually appearing there in June 2017.

Beyond stage, Audra has appeared in four seasons of Private Practice and in Disney's 2017 Beauty and the Beast remake. She also performs in concerts across the U.S. Her personal life includes a marriage to Peter Donovan from 2000 to 2009, with whom she has a daughter, Zoe Madeline. Since 2012, she has been married to Will Swenson, and they have a daughter, Sally James. Her career spans nearly three decades, marked by extraordinary versatility and acclaim.