Audra A. McDonald

Recognized for the unparalleled breadth and versatility of her artistry, as both a singer and an actress. She appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun , and Porgy and Bess. She maintains an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as solo concerts throughout the U.S. A year after graduating from Juilliard, she won her first Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Carousel. She won two Grammy Awards for her recording of the Weill/Brecht opera Mahagonny. She also starred in the ABC television drama Private Practice. A familiar face on PBS, she headlined telecasts including an American Songbook season-opening concert, a presentation of Sondheim's Passion, a Rodgers and Hammerstein tribute concert titled Something Wonderful, and four galas with the New York Philharmonic.