Audra McDonald Biography

Fast Facts

• Her father's sisters performed in a gospel group called the McDonald Sisters, who toured in the 1970s
• Made her Broadway debut as a replacement in The Secret Garden while she was still in school at Juilliard
• Won three Tony awards in five years and was the first person to win three before the age of 30 (she was 27)
• Released her debut album, Way Back to Paradise, in 1998
• Joined the cast of Kate Walsh's Grey's Anatomy spinoff, Private Practice, in 2007
• Daughter Zoe Madeline is named for friends Zoe Caldwell (Audra's costar in Master Class) and Madeline Kahn
• Performed at the first gay wedding in New York City, and is an active advocate of marriage equality
• With her win for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill in 2014, she became the first actor to win six Tony Awards; she has also won a Tony award in all four acting categories