The Early Years
Audra Ann McDonald, born July 3, 1970, in West Berlin, East Germany. She is one of the most honored actresses and singers of her generation, best known for her many roles on the Broadway theater stage. Her mother, Anna Kathryn, was a university administrator and her father, Stanley McDonald, Jr., was a high school principal stationed in West Berlin with the United States Army. When they returned to the United States, her family moved to Fresno, California. She and her youngers sister graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. McDonald went on to study classical singing at the Juilliard School, from which she graduated in 1993.
The First of Many
A year later, aged only 24, she won her first Tony Award for her role in “Carousel.” This production was the first time the role of Carrie Pipperidge was played by a black actress. In 1998 she released her first solo album, “Way Back to Paradise.” 2001 marked her first Emmy Award nomination, for her role in Wit. In 2006, she debuted as opera singer in a production of a one-act opera “La Voix humaine” at the Houston Grand Opera.
Tonys Galore
McDonald has won six Tony Awards, including five in 11 years.
- Best Featured Actress in a Musical as Carrie Pipperidge in “Carousel,” 1994
- Best Featured Actress in a Play as Sharon Graham in “Master Class,” 1996
- Best Featured Actress in a Musical,” Ragtime,” 1998
- Best Featured Actress in a Play as Ruth Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun,” 2004
- Best Actress in a Musical as Bess in “Porgy and Bess,” 2012
- Best Actress in a Play as Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” 2014
McDonald was also nominated in 2000 as Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of playing the title role of Marie Christine L’Adrese in “Marie Christine,” and in 2007 for playing Lizzie Curry in a revival of “110 in the Shade.”
Her sixth Tony Award win also made her record holder. She is the first performer, male or female, to win six competitive Tonys (Julie Harris also had six Tonys, but one was honorary). McDonald is also the only performer ever to win Tonys in all four possible acting categories: Best Performance in both a play and a musical and Best Featured Performance in both a play and a musical.
McDonald planned to make her West End debut in 2016 but postponed it in order to go on maternity leave, eventually debuting at the Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End in June 2017. She has also made many TV and movie appearances, most notably in four seasons of Private Practice (2007) and in Disney’s remake of Beauty and the Beast (2017). She also performs at concerts throughout the US.
Activism
In addition to her professional accomplishments, McDonald is a passionate advocate for equal rights, LGBTQ causes, and underprivileged youth. Her outspoken activism for marriage equality helped put the issue on the national agenda. In 2009, she joined Twitter to promote the cause, using the Twitter handle @AudraEqualityMc, and in 2011 she joined pro-equality marchers in Albany to lobby New York state senators in the days leading up their groundbreaking vote for legalization. In 2012, she and her now husband, actor Will Swenson, received PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality Award. McDonald was featured in marriage equality and anti-bullying campaigns for Freedom to Marry, NOH8, and PFLAG NYC. The Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization for LGBTQ equality, recognized her work with its 2009 Ally for Equality and 2018 National Equality Awards.
Family Life
Audra was married to Peter Donovan from 2000 to 2009, they have a daughter Zoe Madeline. Since October 6, 2012, she’s been married to Will Swenson, and they have a daughter, Sally James, born in 2016. They live in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567653/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Audra-McDonald
https://audramcdonald.com/bio/
