Audra McDonald was born in West Berlin, Germany and grew up in Fresno, California. After graduating from The Juilliard School where she studied classical voice as a soprano, McDonald began an awarded career as the only person to have won a Tony in all four acting categories. One of America’s most important voices, Audra McDonald is recognized for her work in film, opera, symphonic music, theater, and television. In addition to six Tony awards, she also won two Grammy awards, an Emmy, and was an inaugural member of Lincoln Center’s Hall of Fame. In 2015, McDonald was awarded the National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama. The New York Times’ Stephen Holden describes her as “a defining voice of our time,” and The Los Angeles Times’ Charles McNulty wrote that “Perfection is not attainable in this earthly realm, but Audra McDonald came as close as humanly possible.”

Her music theater credits include “Carousel,” “Master Class,” “Ragtime,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” and “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” In theater, she performed in “The Secret Garden,” “Marie Christine,” “Henry IV,” “110 in the Shade,” “Twelfth Night,” “Shuffle Along,” or, “The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” and “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” McDonald has sung with almost every major American orchestra, and in Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, as well as at The BBC Proms. In opera, McDonald performed in Houston Grand Opera’s “La voix humaine” and “Send,” and in Los Angeles Opera’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.” McDonald has been featured regularly on PBS as both performer and host, and in productions on CBS, Disney/ABC, NBC, and HBO. Her film credits include “She Got Problems,” “Rampart,” “Ricki and the Flash,” “Hello Again,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Respect.” She has recorded as a soloist widely on the Nonesuch label, and has also recorded with orchestra and ensemble on Decca Gold and EMI.

In a recent interview with The New Yorker, McDonald commented on the controversy of revising Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” saying “We just wanted to make sure that they were, as Black people, as humanized as they could be.” McDonald’s performances have defied typecasting and racial stereotyping, and her humanitarian causes further demonstrate her commitment to equal rights. Most recently, she co-founded Black Theater United to empower the Black community through social action, widespread reform, and combating systemic racism within the theater industry and nationwide. She serves on the board of Covenant House International, which oversees programs for homeless young people. The Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization for LGBTQAI+ equality, recognized her work with its Ally for Equality and National Equality awards.