Lea Michele debuted on Broadway in 1995 as a replacement cast member in the original New York production of "Les Miserables." This was followed by her creation of the role of Tateh’s daughter, the "Little Girl," in the 1998 original Broadway cast of "Ragtime." In 2004, Michele played “Shprintze” and “Chava” in the revival of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof."

At age 14, Michele won the role of Wendla in the workshop for Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s musical version of "Spring Awakening." She was part of two subsequent workshops for the same part, and after performing in the off-Broadway production, she was offered the chance to originate the Broadway role in 2006. Around the same time, she was invited to perform the role of Eponine in the Broadway revival of "Les Misérables". She chose to remain with Spring Awakening, which debuted on Broadway December 10, 2006.

In April 2007 Michele was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in "Spring Awakening," as Lead Actress in a Musical.

Moving out to Los Angeles, Michele sought out movie and television roles. One of her aspirations at the time was to get a guest spot on the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." Michele ended up getting a much more substantial role on "Glee." Landing the part of Rachel Berry had its challenges, however. She believed that she flopped in her first audition. "The piano player messed up the song, and they were laughing so hard I had to tell them it was a serious scene and ask them to stop laughing," she told New York magazine. Before her last audition, Michele got into a car accident. She left the damaged car at the scene and got to the meeting with shards of glass still in her hair.

Michele’s first feature film was Gary Marshall’s "New Year’s Eve." Also on the big screen, Michele lent her vocal talents to the animated 3D musical Dorothy of "Oz," voicing the movie’s lead role and singing on several original numbers alongside Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Kelsey Grammer.

She is set to star in the ABC series The Mayor.

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