Audra Mc Donald

Audra Mcdonald stands out as a truly unique performer in her range of talents and the variety of her talents as an actress and a vocalist. Audra McDonald, who won seven Tony Awards in a row and two Grammy Awards in 2015 was selected as one the Times magazine's 100 Most Influential People. President Barack Obama also awarded her the National Medal of Arts -- America's highest honour for achievements in this field. She has a home on television, film and Broadway. Her stunning soprano can make her appear effortless on the stage. In addition to her work in the theatre, she is also a prominent performer as a recording and concert artist regularly appearing at the top venues around the globe. McDonald is from Fresno California, where she was raised by a family that included musicians. When she attended the Juilliard School in New York City, McDonald received training as an opera singer. In 1994, a year following her graduation from Juilliard School, McDonald was awarded the Tony Award for "Best Performance by a Lead Actress in musical" for Carousel. In the following four years, she received two additional Tony Awards in the featured actress category for her performances of performances in the Broadway premier of Terrence McNally's play Master Class (1996) and his show Ragtime (1998) creating an unheard of number of Tony Awards before the age of thirty. She received her fourth Tony in 2004, starring alongside Sean Diddy Combs in A Raisin in the Sun and at the end of 2012. In 2012, she took home five Tonys and her first one in the category leading actress, for her part of The Gershwins Porgy and Bess as the title role. The Tony Awards' most decorated performer, she had the chance to create Broadway history when she was awarded her sixth Tony Award for playing Billie Holiday as Lady Day at the Emerson's Bar & Grill. This performance also served as the basis to make the Olivier Award nominee 2017 London West End debut. As well as setting records in terms of the number of awards an actor has received, she also became the first person ever to be awarded in all four categories. Her other credits for theater are The Secret Garden (1993) Marie Christine (1999) Henry IV (2004) 110 in the Shade (2007) Twelfth Night (2009) which marked her Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park debut show, Shuffle Along or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921, and all That Followed (2016) Frankie and Johnny in Clair de Lune (2019) as well as Ohio State Murders (2023). McDonald was first introduced to a television audience for her dramatic performance in Peabody Award winning CBS's Having Our Say: the Delany Sisters first 100 years. In the following years, she co-starred alongside Kathy Bates and Victor Garber in the highly acclaimed 1999 remake by ABC and Disney of Annie and then in 2000 she appeared in a variety of roles on NBC's hit series Law & Order Special Victims Unit. McDonald won her first Emmy for her part in her role in the HBO adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Wit directed by Mike Nichols, starring Emma Thompson. In 2003 she was back on television, but this time she was in Mister Sterling produced by Emmy award-winner Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., starring Josh Brolin. At the beginning of 2006, McDonald starred on the WB's The Bedford Diaries. The next year she was a recurring actor on NBC's Kidnapped. McDonald received a fourth Emmy nomination for her appearance in HBO's special film of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, in 2016. The actress starred with Taylor Schilling and Steven Pasquale in The Bite a six-episode pandemic-themed show co-produced by Spectrum Originals and CBS Studios in 2021. The actress first appeared as U.S. attorney Liz Lawrence in 2009, on CBS's legal drama The Good Wife in 2018 McDonald reprised her character (now called Liz Reddick) as a season regular of The Good Fight on Paramount+ receiving 3 Critics Choice Award nominations for her performance. She is currently acting as a guest in Julian Fellowes' historical drama The Gilded Age, which premieres on HBO.