Audra McDonald

Born in West Berlin, Germany, Audra McDonald is best known as a six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway actress. She’s also an Olivier Award-nominated performer, last seen on a London stage in 2017.

Growing up in California, McDonald attended performing arts classes, later graduating from the Roosevelt School of the Arts program. She then went on to study classical voice at Juilliard School in New York, making her Broadway debut in The Secret Garden in 1992 while in training. Her breakout role came in 1994, playing Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and winning her first Tony at 24.

McDonald has won more Tony Awards than any other performer in Broadway history. Her acclaimed performances include Sharon in Master Class, Sarah in Ragtime, Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, Bess in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and as Billie Holliday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. In 2019, McDonald starred as Frankie in a Broadway revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune alongside Michael Shannon. The production ran for a limited engagement of 12 weeks at the Broadhurst Theatre.

The Broadway star made her West End debut in 2017, reprising her performance as Billie Holliday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill at the Wyndham’s Theatre, earning an Olivier nomination for Best Actress.