Audra McDonald

Quick Facts

Full Name	Audra McDonald
Occupation	Stage Actress
Date Of Birth	Jul 3, 1970(1970-07-03)
Age	54
Birthplace	Germany
Country	Germany
Horoscope	Cancer

Audra McDonald Biography

Audra McDonald is one of the most popular and richest Stage Actress who was born on July 3, 1970 in Germany, Germany. Tony Award-winning theater and television actress who portrayed Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s Private Practice.

She and Marin Mazzie were part of the original cast of the musical Ragtime.

McDonald was born in West Berlin, Germany, the daughter of American parents, Anna Kathryn, a university administrator, and Stanley McDonald Jr., a high school principal. At the time of her birth, her father was stationed with the United States Army. McDonald was raised in Fresno, California, the elder of two daughters; her young sister, Alison, writes and directs for television and film. McDonald graduated from the Roosevelt School of the Arts program within Theodore Roosevelt High School in Fresno. She got her start in acting with Dan Pessano and Good Company Players, beginning in their junior company. In a feature article about her written when she was a child, she said that she knew she wanted to be involved in theater “when I had my first chance to perform with the Good Company Players Junior Company.” She also said that the people who have had the most impact on her life are “Good Company director Dan Pessano and my mother.” She studied classical voice as an undergraduate under Ellen Faull at the Juilliard School, graduating in 1993.

McDonald is known for defying racial typecasting in her various Tony Award- winning and -nominated roles. Her performances as Carrie Pipperidge in Nicholas Hytner’s 1996 revival of Carousel and Lizzie Curry in Lonny Price’s 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade made her the first black woman to portray those (traditionally white) roles in a major Broadway production. Of her groundbreaking work in encouraging diversity in musical theatre casting, she said in an interview for The New York Times, “I refuse to be stereotyped. If I think I am right for a role I will go for it in whatever way I can. I refuse to say no to myself. I can’t control what a producer will do or say but I can at least put myself out there.” In a Talk of the Nation interview on NPR, Asian-American actor Thom Sesma said McDonald’s performance in Carousel “transcended any kind of type at all”, proving her to be “more actress than African-American.”

She married her second husband, Will Swenson, in 2012. She had a daughter named Zoe with her first husband, Peter Donovan.

Audra McDonald Net Worth

Audra McDonald is one of the richest Stage Actress from Germany. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Audra McDonald 's net worth $2 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

She graduated from The Juilliard School in 1993.

She set a record with her sixth Tony Award in 2014, which also made her the first person to win the award in all four acting categories.

Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win all four acting categories. She has performed in musicals, operas, and dramas such as A Moon for the Misbegotten, 110 in the Shade, Carousel, Ragtime, Master Class and Porgy and Bess.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Audra McDonald height 5 feet 8 inches Audra weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Audra McDonald Dating?

According to our records, Audra McDonald married to Will Swenson , Peter Donovan. As of December 1, 2023, Audra McDonald’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Audra McDonald. You may help us to build the dating records for Audra McDonald!

McDonald has also made many television appearances, both musical and dramatic. In 2001, she received her first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for the HBO film Wit, starring Emma Thompson and directed by Mike Nichols. She also has appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street (1999), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000), Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years (1999), the short-lived Mister Sterling (2003), The Bedford Diaries (2006), and Kidnapped (2006–2007), and in the 1999 television remake of Annie as Daddy Warbucks’ secretary & soon-to-be wife, Miss Farrell. She sang with the New York Philharmonic in the annual New Year’s Eve gala concert on December 31, 2006, featuring music from the movies; it was televised on Live from Lincoln Center by PBS. In 2013, she appeared in the HBO documentary Six by Sondheim.

Facts & Trivia

Audra Ranked on the list of most popular Stage Actress. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Germany. Audra McDonald celebrates birthday on July 3 of every year.

On television, McDonald portrayed Dr. Naomi Bennett as a main cast member of Shonda Rhimes’s ABC television drama Private Practice from 2007–2011. She also portrayed the character of Liz Lawrence in Season 4 of The Good Wife, a role that she reprises as a main cast member in the spinoff series The Good Fight. In 2013 she performed the role of Mother Superior in The Sound of Music Live! opposite Carrie Underwood as Maria. She has twice been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayals of Susie Monahan in Wit opposite Emma Thompson in 2001 and for her performance of Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun in 2008. In 2016 she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill for HBO in which McDonald portrayed jazz legend Billie Holiday. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program in 2015 for her work hosting the program Live from Lincoln Center.

Are Audra McDonald and Will Swenson still married?

Swenson met his first wife, Amy Westerby, while they were both in one of his grandmother’s comedies, Hopsville Holiday. The couple have two sons, Bridger and Sawyer; they have since divorced. Swenson and actress Audra McDonald became engaged in January 2012 and were married on October 6, 2012.

Is Audra McDonald black?

In the interview, McDonald touched on the barriers she faced as a Black woman in the industry and how feeling out of place caused her to almost take her life.

How did Audra McDonald get famous?

Soon after graduating, McDonald was cast in a touring production of The Secret Garden (1993). She quickly attracted attention the following year when she was cast as the fecund Carrie Snow in British director Nicholas Hytner’s revival of Carousel. The supporting role earned her a Tony Award.

How did Audra McDonald change the world?

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.

Is Will Swenson a Mormon?

A former Mormon missionary who grew up in a prominent community theater family in Utah, Will Swenson is a performer who is endlessly challenging expectations and stereotypes. In doing so, he has proven himself not only a remarkable talent, but also a committed advocate for LGBT equality.