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Renee Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress, singer and songwriter.

Goldsberry was born in San Jose, California and raised in both Houston, Texas and Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills she went to Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated with a bachelors degree in theater. After that she went on to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California, where she received her masters degree in vocal jazz performance.^[1] In 2002, she married New York attorney Alexis Johnson. Goldsberry gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Benjamin, in May 2009.^[2]

[edit] Career

In 2001 Goldsberry starred in the movie All About You as Nicole, and co-wrote more than half of the soundtrack, including the title song.^[1] She is also a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.^[1] She has made past appearances on the FOX series Ally McBeal in which she played one of the back-up singers who frequently accompanied Vonda Shepard's performances, and as Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King.^[3]

Goldsberry portrayed attorney Evangeline Williamson on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live from 2003 until 2007. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award^{[1] [3]} in 2004 for "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series" and won a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2005 for Favorite Triangle, with co-stars Michael Easton and Melissa Archer. Goldsberry was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actress" in both 2006 and 2007 for the role.^[1][3]

Goldsberry was nominated for a Drama League Award for "Distinguished Performance" and won a New York magazine Best of 2005 Award for her performance as Silvia in the 2005 New York City Shakespeare in the Park revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona.^[1][3] She later originated the role of Nettie in The Color Purple, the Broadway musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name,^[1][3] from November 2005 to mid-January 2006. On June 16, 2008, Goldsberry was the last actress to play the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent.^[3] Rent's last performance was filmed and made into a DVD, Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Renee Elise Goldsberry at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Renee Elise Goldsberry site