Audra McDonald is a six-time Tony Award-winning American actress and classically trained soprano widely regarded as one of the greatest stage performers of her generation. Born July 3, 1970, in West Germany to American parents and raised in Fresno, California, she trained in classical voice at the Juilliard School before launching a Broadway career that would rewrite the record books.

Her first Tony Award came in 1994 for the Broadway revival of Carousel, and she followed with wins for Master Class (1996), Ragtime (1998), and A Raisin in the Sun (2004). With her sixth win, for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (2014), McDonald became the only performer in history to win competitive Tony Awards in all four acting categories — and the most decorated performer in Tony history.