Lea Michele

A Broadway star by the time she was nine years old, Lea Michele made her name as a stage actress before landing a role in Glee, which turned her into a TV performer and Top 40 pop vocalist. Although she was raised in New Jersey, Michele spent most of her childhood in New York City, where she joined the cast of Les Misérables in 1995. She eventually outgrew the role of "Young Cosette" and switched shows in 1998, this time taking part in the original production of Ragtime. As Michele entered her teens, though, she took a break from big-budget musicals and focused on school ins...