Biography
Actress Renée Elise Goldsberry was a prolific and gifted presence on both the New York stage and network television, where she earned a Tony nomination for "Hamilton" while also appearing in series ranging from "One Life to Live" (ABC, 1968-2012) to "The Good Wife" (CBS, 2009-2016). Born January 21, 1971 in San Jose, California, she earned a bachelor's degree in theater from Carnegie Mellon University before returning to the West Coast to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California. There, she received a master's degree in vocal jazz performance while also launching her screen acting career as a backing vocalist for Vonda Shepherd on "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002). Her acting and vocal talents led to steady and diverse work on both television and stage: Goldsberry played Nala in during the 2002-2003 Broadway season of "The Lion King" and appeared in the national tour of "Dreamgirls" while also landing guest roles on "Star Trek: Enterprise" (UPN, 2001-2005) and "Providence" (NBC, 1999-2002). From 2003 to 2007, she also played attorney Evangeline Williamson on the daytime soap opera "One Live to Live" (ABC, 1968-2012), for which she received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations and an NAACP Image Award nomination. During this period, Goldsberry also found time to star in a 2005 Shakespeare in the Park production of "Two Gentlemen of Verona," for which she earned a Drama Desk Award nomination, and originate the role of Nettie in the original Broadway run of "The Color Purple" in 2006. The following year, she played Mimi Marquez in the final year of the original Broadway production of "Rent" as well as "Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway" (2008), which captured the final performance of the show. Goldsberry then returned to her busy balancing act of stage and television, appearing in David Lindsay-Abaire's "Good People" in 2011 while also appearing in recurring roles as lawyers on several major television series, including Martha Marron on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ), the ill-fated Olivia Warren on "The Following" (Fox, 2013-2015) and Geneva Paige on "The Good Wife" (CBS, 2009-2016). In 2015, she originated the role of the passionate and intelligent Angelica Schuyler in the juggernaut hit musical "Hamilton"; her turn, which was highlighted by the show-stopping hip-hop number "Satisfied," earned a Tony win for Best Featured Actress and a 2016 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album shared with the original Broadway cast, as well as the Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Featured Actress.
