Lin-Manuel Miranda Biography

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a multi-award winning American composer, actor, and playwright. He is mostly known for Broadway musicals like In the Heights and Hamilton.

Early Life

Lin-Manuel Miranda was born in Upper Manhattan, New York on January 16, 1980. Originally of Puerto Rican descent, Miranda grew up around both latino and African-American communities. While attending university and after graduating in 2002, he was heavily involved in the creation, writing, and performance of several musicals and theater productions.

Career Beginnings

As the composer and lyricist of the Into the Heights play on Broadway, Miranda won the Best Original Score Tony Award for the show. A Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album was given followed by the acclaimed book Quiara Alegría Hudes in 2009. Besides numerous jobs as composer and performer on various TV shows and commercials, Miranda was still much involved in writing Broadway musicals.

Hamilton and Breakthrough

Manuel was the composer for the rap musical Hamilton, which was inspired by the biography of founding father, Alexander Hamilton. Opening in 2015, he performed the lead role of Hamilton. The performance and show were a success for its unique hip-hop influences and racially diverse cast. The album, Hamilton reached number 12 on the Billboard 200. An impressive string of awards and nominations followed for Hamilton such as 11 Tony Awards from 16 nominations, 1 MacArthur Genius Grant Award, 1 Grammy Award for Best Musical and 1 Pulitzer Prize Award.

Present

Manuel joined several Broadway stars and recorded the song What the World Needs Now is Love in memory of the tragic Orlando mass shooting at a gay club. He followed with the soundtrack for the Disney film Moana. He is set to make his debut on the big screen with the film revival Mary Poppins Returns, in 2018.

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