Women of the Year 2011
Lea Michele: The Diva Next Door
She is a Woman of the Year because: “In an industry where girls are expected to look and act a certain way, she isn’t afraid to be her own person. She inspires me.”
—Glee costar Jonathan Groff“I would be happy to be a high school student forever,” says Lea Michele, 25. That’s no surprise. As absurdly driven teen prima donna Rachel Berry on Glee, Michele has used her killer voice and acting chops to help turn the show into a juggernaut: 2011 brought a sold-out cast tour, best-selling DVDs and the distinction of smashing the record held by the Beatles for most songs on Billboard’s Top 100 at once. Plus, she’s taught millions of teen girls to sing and be themselves. “Rachel doesn’t look like everyone else,” says Michele, “but her confidence takes her past that; she overcomes, you know?” The 5’2” sensation started building that awesome self-assurance at age eight, when she appeared in Les Misérables. Glee cocreator Ryan Murphy has said he wrote the Berry role specifically for Michele after seeing her electric performance in Broadway’s Spring Awakening, when he was struck by her “mix of Barbra Streisand and Patti LuPone. Her talent is once in a lifetime.” Like her hero, Babs, Michele makes no apologies for her aspirations. “Women in powerful positions get labeled with the D word, but you have to use your diva-ness for good as a way to show your strengths,” she says. That means she’ll soon be on the big screen in New Year’s Eve and in the animated Dorothy of Oz (as Dorothy…of course!). And while Michele doesn’t know just what will happen when Rachel Berry graduates from McKinley High, she sees great things ahead. “I have this fire in me,” she says, “and it’s only getting stronger.”
