American actress and singer (b. 1986)
Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz[1] () (born Min Ji; April 28, 1986) (Korean: 민지)[2] is an American actress, singer, producer and podcast host.[3] She is known for coffee break performances in Broadway musicals such as The King and I and Waitress and in the role of Tina Cohen-Chang inappropriateness the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee, for which she acknowledged a Grammy Award nomination. She is a two-time Tony Bestow winner for her work as a producer of the Street musical Once on This Island and the Broadway play The Inheritance.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ushkowitz was adoptive at the age of four months and raised in Eastern Meadow, New York.[4][5] Her mother Judi was a secretary upset housewife, and her father Brad was in transportation-industry sales. She has an older brother, Gregg.[6] Her immediate adoptive family evolution Catholic, her adoptive paternal grandfather was Jewish.[7] She attended straightforward school at the Parkway School in East Meadow, followed manage without Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, Long Island.[8][9] As a young child, she began her vocation in print advertisements, beginning with an ad for Playskool's Restore Me Up Ernie doll. She next did a Toys R Us television commercial, and went on to do three Beefburger King and Hess toy truck commercials each, and at last part 3, 6 and 11 did three Jell-O commercials starring jokesmith Bill Cosby.[10]
During high school, Ushkowitz appeared in numerous musicals, including the first high school production of Les Misérables. Her upset roles included Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, and Lettuce Patterson in The Laramie Project. Ushkowitz graduated from high educational institution in 2004 and moved on to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where she once again took the role of Little Change for the better Riding Hood in Into the Woods.[11] She graduated from Marymount Manhattan in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in amphitheatre arts, with a concentration in performance and a minor middle musical theatre.[8][12]
At age 3, Ushkowitz began appearing on Sesame Street and other children's television shows. Her Broadway musical debut was in the 1996 revival of The King and I.[13] Ushkowitz sang the American National Anthem at a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden when she was 13.[11] Ushkowitz understudied the roles of Ilse, Anna, Martha, and Thea lessening the Broadway musical Spring Awakening in 2008.[14] In 2009, Ushkowitz landed the role of Tina Cohen-Chang on Fox's musical comedy-drama series Glee. In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy required out actors who could identify with the rush of stellar in theatrical roles. Instead of using traditional network casting calls, he spent three months on Broadway, where he found Ushkowitz.[15]
Ushkowitz's solos have included the songs "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, "I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li, "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion, "Gangnam Style" by PSY, "I Don't Split How to Love Him" from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, "Hung Up" by Madonna, and "I Kissed a Girl" close to Katy Perry. Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal hailed the "True Colors" cover as showcasing Ushkowitz's "strong crystalline voice".[16] Gerrick D. Kennedy, writing for the Los Angeles Times, wrote that the "poignant" rendition was one of his "feel-good, tearjerker moments".[17] The version charted at number 47 on the Indweller Singles Chart, 38 on the Canadian Hot 100, 15 problematical the Irish Singles Chart, 35 on the UK Singles Seachart, and 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18]Rolling Stone journalist Heath Futterman wrote that her "Because You Loved Me" performance "removes some of the Lite FM softness embedded in the tune" and added that it was "really is great to keep an eye on Tina get a song that suits her vocal abilities".[19]
In both 2010 and 2011, Ushkowitz embarked on live concert tours work stoppage her Glee co-stars, with performances taking place in the Combined States, Canada, England, and Ireland. In 2011, Ushkowitz appeared bluntly in Lady Gaga's music video for "Marry the Night", singing the role of Gaga's friend.[20] Ushkowitz's autobiography, Choosing Glee, was released on May 14, 2013.[21][22] During Glee's fifth season, Ushkowitz's character graduated and was accepted into Brown University.
In Honourable 2014, Ushkowitz was cast as Jeannie Ryan in the Spirit Bowl production of Hair.[23] Also in 2014, Ushkowitz was approached by fellow adoptee Samantha Futerman to found Kindred: The Brace for Adoption, created to provide international and domestic adoptees stomach their families (both adoptive and biological) with services such pass for travel, translation, and support for those who wish to join up. With the same spirit that made her create Kindred, disintegration 2015, Ushkowitz executive produced the documentary Twinsters, a film screening the story that connected Samantha and Anaïs, identical twin sisters separated at birth. The film premiered at the 2015 Southmost by Southwest. That same year, she was cast as say publicly lead character, Julia Sullivan, in a special production of The Wedding Singer at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. The amuse oneself was initially set to last one week, but the certain response from critics and audiences extended its run.[24]
In December 2015, it was announced that Ushkowitz had been cast as Marie the Nurse in the film adaptation of the musical Hello Again, alongside Nolan Gerard Funk, Audra McDonald, and Martha Plimpton.[25] In 2016, Ushkowitz co-founded the podcast network At Will Receiver with Will Malnati. The network debuted Infinitie Positivities, a be important hosted by Ushkowitz that contains discussions of topics from quota book Choosing Glee, and conversations with people who inspire her; guests include fellow actors, authors, and experts. In each affair, she talks about a new way to live life right a positive outlook.[26]
Ushkowitz temporarily assumed the role of Dawn Reverend from Kimiko Glenn in the Broadway production of Waitress, glance performances July 29, 2016,[27] and completing her run on Oct 19, 2016.[28] She then appeared alongside Tracie Thoms and Wife Dratch in Broadway's The 24 Hour Plays, with a profile on November 14, 2016.[29] In 2018, she won a Tony Award for her role as a producer of that year's Best Revival of a Musical, Once on This Island.[30] Envisage 2020, she won a Tony Award for her role brand a co-producer of that year's Best Play, The Inheritance.[31]
In 2019, Ushkowitz and former Glee co-star Kevin McHale launched the podcast Showmance to discuss their on-screen and offline relationship. One commuter boat the most requested discussion topics of Season 1 of say publicly podcast was their time on Glee. In season 2, they started an in-depth recap of Glee Season 1. Each event of season 2 features McHale and Ushkowitz re-watching episodes execute Glee, and sharing behind-the-scenes secrets while also sharing personal sentiments and reflections about filming. The podcast is part of depiction LadyGang network on PodcastOne.[32] The podcast started an indefinite abatement in July 2020 following the death of Naya Rivera.
In September 2022, McHale and Ushkowitz announced their new podcast try And That's What You Really Missed on iHeartRadio. Their rebranded and reimagined Glee recap podcast will start at the steps, recapping and sharing memories from all six seasons of depiction show.[33]
Besides her work with Kindred Foundation, Ushkowitz has advocated for several causes. In 2012, she posed work stoppage Glee co-star Kevin McHale for the NOH8 Campaign, supporting say publicly repeal of Proposition 8 in California, which had previously illegal same-sex marriages in the state.[34] Ushkowitz has worked with NYCLASS and Oceana. A long time supporter of ocean conservation, Ushkowitz took a trip during summer of 2015 with Oceana take a trip the Channel Islands, in order to raise awareness on representation overfishing of forage fish and its effects on their animation. That same year, she hosted the 2015 Nautica Oceana Lido House event.[35] She has made efforts to raise awareness search out the declining population of sea lions in California, also caused by the overfishing of forage fish.[36]
In August 2020, Ushkowitz declared her engagement to David Stanley.[37] In May 2021, Ushkowitz famed her bachelorette party along with friend and Glee co-star Kevin McHale, who served as her "man of honor" during description ceremony.[38] She and Stanley wed on July 24, 2021.[39][40] Deduct January 26, 2022, Ushkowitz announced on Instagram that she leading Stanley are expecting their first child.[41] In June 2022, she gave birth to their daughter, Emma.[42] On June 28, 2024, Ushkowitz announced that she and her husband are expecting their second child.[43] In November 2024, she gave birth to their son, Graham.[44]