Lea Salonga

Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, (born February 22, 1971) is a Filipina singer and actress.

Primarily known for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on West End and Broadway.

Her accolades include a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for two Grammy Awards.

Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga was born on February 22, 1971 to Ligaya ( Imutan) (b. 1937) and Feliciano Salonga (1929–2016).

She has a younger brother named Gerard.

At age seven, she and her family moveed from Pampanga to Manila.

Salonga finished her primary and secondary education as salutatorian and valedictorian, respectively.

As a college freshman studying biology at the Ateneo de Manila University, when she auditioned for Miss Saigon, she intended to have a medical career.

Her cousin, who was active with Repertory Philippines, encouraged her to audition for a production of The King and I, where she made her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven.

She played the title role in Annie in 1980, later reprising the role in 1984, and appeared in other productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1978), Fiddler on the Roof (1978), The Sound of Music (1980), The Rose Tattoo (1980), The Goodbye Girl (1982), Paper Moon (1983), and The Fantasticks (1988).

As a young performer, Salonga received a Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination for Best Child Actress and three Aliw Awards for Best Child Performer in 1980, 1981, and 1982.

As a recording artist, Salonga began her music career at age ten and released her first album, Small Voice, in 1981.

In 1981, Salonga released her first album, Small Voice, which was certified gold in the Philippines, and made her film debut in the comedy film Tropang Bulilit.

From 1983 to 1985, she hosted her musical television show, Love, Lea, and was a member of the cast of German Moreno's teen variety show, That's Entertainment.

In 1985, Salonga and her brother, Gerard, took part in the 8th Metro Manila Popular Music Festival as the interpreters for the song entry titled "Musika, Lata, Sipol at La La La," composed by Tess Concepcion, which won second prize in the Amateur Division.

That same year, she opened for the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in their concerts in Manila.

As a teenager, Salonga continued to act in films, appearing in Like Father, Like Son (1985), Ninja Kids (1986), Captain Barbell (1986), and Pik Pak Boom (1988).

She again performed with the group in 1986 and 1987, also appearing on their English-Tagalog album, In Action.

In 1988, she released her second studio album, Lea, and opened for Stevie Wonder in Manila.

For her initial Manila audition in 1988, the then 17-year-old Salonga chose to sing Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's "On My Own" from Les Misérables.

Salonga has sometimes credited the song as the starting point of her international career.

After hearing her rendition, she was asked if she had prepared another song to perform.

Although she had not prepared another song for the audition, she sang "The Greatest Love of All."

At her first callback audition, Salonga was asked to sing "Sun and Moon" and "The Movie in My Mind," impressing the audition panel.

In December 1988, Salonga appeared before the panel at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London to perform "I'd Give My Life For You" and "Too Much For One Heart."

After three days of intensive work sessions in London, Salonga was offered the lead role.

Salonga began her career as a child in Philippine musical theatre productions and rose to international recognition in 1989 for playing the lead role of Kim in the original West End and Broadway productions of Miss Saigon.

For her performance, she gained five awards—the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theatre World Award, and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

In 1989, Salonga originated the leading role of Kim in the debut production of the musical Miss Saigon in London.

She was conferred with the Presidential Medal of Merit in 1990 and the Order of Lakandula in 2007, and was honored as a Disney Legend in 2011.

For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the 1990 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest winners of the award.

On December 21, 1990, Salonga performed with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Ateneo College Glee Club, and guest singer Robert Seña in a homecoming concert in Manila entitled A Miss Called Lea, which was later broadcast on television.

On screen, she provided the singing voices for Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and the titular character in Mulan (1998).

She also served as a coach on The Voice of the Philippines and its spin-off series, The Voice Kids and The Voice Teens.

In 1993, she signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and released her self-titled album that year.

In the early 2000s, between jobs in New York, she took two courses, Philosophy and European History, at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus.

As a child, Salonga began singing at family parties.

Her further roles include Éponine in the Broadway and West End productions of Les Misérables, Wu Mei-Li in the 2002 Broadway revival of Flower Drum Song, Fantine in the 2006 Broadway revival of Les Misérables, Kei Kimura in the original Broadway production of Allegiance, Erzulie in the 2017 Broadway revival of Once on This Island, and Aurora Aquino in the original Broadway production of Here Lies Love.

In 2023 and 2024, she starred in the West End production of the musical revue Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends.

During an episode of "Stars in the House" streamed on March 28, 2020, Salonga told Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, she found out that she was officially cast when she read the Sunday supplement of the Daily Mail.