Lin-Manuel Miranda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lin-Manuel Miranda
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Miranda in 2019
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| Born | January 16, 1980 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Vanessa Nadal
(m. 2010) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | José Miranda (cousin) |
| Awards | Full list |
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Lin-Manuel Miranda (born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and writer for musicals. He is famous for creating the Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton. He also wrote songs for popular animated films like Moana, Vivo, and Encanto.
Miranda has won many important awards. These include a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Emmy Awards, and five Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for two Academy Awards. In 2018, he received the Kennedy Center Honors.
He first appeared on Broadway in 2008 with In the Heights. He wrote the music and lyrics for this show and also starred in it. In the Heights won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Tony Award for Best Original Score. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The musical was later made into a movie in 2021.
In 2015, Miranda returned to Broadway with Hamilton. He wrote the story, music, and lyrics, and played the main character. Critics loved Hamilton, and it became a huge hit. Hamilton won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards and won 11. Miranda won for Best Book of a Musical. The Hamilton cast album was very popular. It stayed at the top of Billboard's Top Rap Albums chart for 10 weeks.
Miranda often works with the Walt Disney Company. He has written many original songs for their films. He received two Oscar nominations. These were for "How Far I'll Go" from Moana and "Dos Oruguitas" from Encanto. The song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from Encanto became a number-one hit in the US and UK. This was Miranda's first song to reach number one.
He also acted in the musical fantasy film Mary Poppins Returns (2018). He played the character Jack. For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe. In 2020, a live recording of Hamilton was released on Disney+. Miranda received a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance in it. Miranda also directed his first film, Tick, Tick...Boom!.
On television, Miranda had roles in The Electric Company (2009–2010) and His Dark Materials (2019–2022). He hosted Saturday Night Live in 2016. He also had a guest role on Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2018. He was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for these appearances. Miranda has also been active in supporting Puerto Rico. He met with politicians in 2016 to discuss debt relief for Puerto Rico. He also helped raise money for disaster relief after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lin-Manuel Miranda was born on January 16, 1980, in New York City. His mother, Luz Towns-Miranda, is a psychologist. His father, Luis A. Miranda Jr., is a political advisor. His family is mostly from Puerto Rico. He also has some Mexican, English, and African American ancestors. His parents named him "Lin-Manuel" after a poem about the Vietnam War. The poem was by a Puerto Rican writer named José Manuel Torres Santiago.
Miranda grew up in the Inwood area of Manhattan. He was raised as a Catholic. Every year, he spent at least one month with his grandparents in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. He has an older sister named Luz.
Miranda went to Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. He started writing musicals when he was in school. One of his classmates, Chris Hayes, directed Miranda in a school play. It was a short musical about a fetal pig.
In 1999, during his second year at Wesleyan University, Miranda wrote the first version of In the Heights. Wesleyan's student theater group, Second Stage, accepted the show. Miranda added freestyle rap and salsa music to it. The show was first performed in 1999. He wrote and directed other musicals at Wesleyan. He also acted in many plays, including those by William Shakespeare. He finished college in 2002.
Career Highlights
Theatre Work
In The Heights Success
In 2002, Miranda worked with director Thomas Kail to improve In the Heights. Playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes joined them in 2004. The musical first opened in Connecticut in 2005. Then it moved to off-Broadway in 2007. Finally, it opened on Broadway in March 2008.
In the Heights was nominated for 13 Tonys. It won four, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. It also won a Grammy. Miranda was nominated for a Tony for his role as Usnavi. He left the Broadway show on February 15, 2009.
Miranda played Usnavi again for the national tour in Los Angeles in 2010. He also joined the tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He returned to the Broadway cast as Usnavi from December 25, 2010, until the show closed on January 9, 2011. It had 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances.
During this time, Miranda also worked on other stage projects. He wrote Spanish lines and helped translate songs for the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story. He also performed at parties. In 2008, he added two new songs to a revised musical called Working.
Miranda also taught English at his old high school. He wrote columns and restaurant reviews for the Manhattan Times. He also composed music for commercials.
In 2003, Miranda helped start Freestyle Love Supreme. This is a hip hop improv group. They have performed at many comedy festivals. The group had a TV series in 2014. They made their Broadway debut on October 2, 2019.
Bring It On and Other Shows
Miranda helped write the music and lyrics for Bring It On. It first showed in Atlanta, Georgia, in January 2011. The musical then went on a US tour in October 2011. It played on Broadway at the St. James Theatre from July to December 2012. It was nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography.
In February 2012, Miranda acted in Merrily We Roll Along. He played Charley in a special concert at New York City Center.
In 2014, Miranda won an Emmy Award for a song called "Bigger!". He co-wrote it for the opening of the 67th Tony Awards.
Miranda wrote music and lyrics for a short musical called 21 Chump Street. He was the narrator for its only performance in June 2014. It was also on National Public Radio's This American Life. Later that month, he starred in a revival of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick... Boom!.
Hamilton Phenomenon
In 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda read a book about Alexander Hamilton. This book was written by Ron Chernow. Miranda was inspired and wrote a rap song about Hamilton. He performed it at the White House in 2009. Miranda later said he spent a year writing the Hamilton song "My Shot". He wanted every line to show Hamilton's intelligence. By 2012, Miranda was performing many songs about Hamilton's life. He called it the Hamilton Mixtape.
Hamilton first opened off-Broadway in January 2015. Thomas Kail directed it. Miranda wrote the story and music, and played the main character. The show received amazing reviews and all tickets were sold out. Hamilton began previews on Broadway in July 2015. It officially opened on August 6, 2015, to great reviews. On the first night of previews, over 700 people waited for lottery tickets. This lottery became Ham4Ham. Miranda and the cast would perform short shows outside for the people waiting.
Hamilton won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Miranda won Tonys for Best Original Score and Best Book Of A Musical. He was also nominated for Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda won a Pulitzer for the musical. The cast album won a Grammy.
On March 15, 2016, the Hamilton cast performed at the White House. Miranda even did a freestyle rap with President Obama. In April 2016, Miranda and Jeremy McCarter released a book. It was called Hamilton: The Revolution. The book tells the story of Hamilton from idea to Broadway hit.
Miranda gave his last performance in Hamilton on July 9, 2016. He said he would return to the show. In 2017, he announced he would play the role for one night. This was to celebrate President Obama's decision about Oscar López Rivera.
A documentary about the show, Hamilton's America, came out in 2016. It showed Miranda and the making of the musical. A filmed version of the Broadway Hamilton was released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020.
On January 24, 2016, Miranda had a small voice role in the Broadway show Les Misérables. This was a dream come true for him.
Recent Theatre Work
In January 2019, Miranda played Alexander Hamilton again. He performed for three weeks in Puerto Rico. All the tickets sold out very quickly. Critics praised his performance, saying he showed "deeper on-stage emotions." In March 2019, he played King Arthur in a concert version of Camelot.
In 2023, he wrote more lyrics for the Broadway musical New York, New York.
In August 2023, it was announced that he started working on a musical based on the novel The Warriors. This book was also made into a movie in 1979. Miranda worked with Eisa Davis on an album for the musical. It is called Warriors and was released on October 18, 2024.
Film Projects
Early Film Roles
Miranda first appeared in a movie in 2012. It was a live-action film by Walt Disney Pictures called The Odd Life of Timothy Green.
Disney and Directing
Miranda met with Disney in 2013. He sent them a demo with six songs. This led to many projects with Disney:
- Moana – In 2014, Disney hired Miranda to help write songs for Moana. He worked with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina on the songs. Moana was released in November 2016 and was a big success. Critics praised Miranda's songwriting. He also sang "We Know the Way" in the film. He recorded a duet with Jordan Fisher for "You're Welcome". For the song "How Far I'll Go", Miranda won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. He also received nominations for a Golden Globe and an Oscar.
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens – While working on Hamilton, Miranda also wrote music for a scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). This was a tribute to a famous scene from an older Star Wars movie.
- DuckTales – In May 2018, Miranda started voicing Fenton "Gizmoduck" Crackshell-Cabrera. This was for Disney Channel's new DuckTales show. He appeared many times in the series.
- Mary Poppins Returns – Miranda played Jack, a lamplighter. Jack was a former helper to Bert, the chimney sweep from the original Mary Poppins film. This was his first big role after leaving Hamilton on Broadway. The movie was released in December 2018.
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Miranda also wrote music for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He also had a small acting role as a Resistance soldier.
- The filmed version of the Broadway Hamilton was bought by Walt Disney Pictures. It was released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020.
- Encanto – Miranda worked with Walt Disney Animation Studios again on Encanto. The film was released on November 24, 2021. The soundtrack was very successful. The song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" became number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Miranda was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Dos Oruguitas".
- The Little Mermaid – In August 2016, Miranda agreed to write songs with Alan Menken for Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid remake. Miranda also helped produce the film. Menken and Miranda wrote four new songs for the movie. The film was released in theaters on May 26, 2023.
- Mufasa: The Lion King – Miranda is a big fan of The Lion King. He was excited to work on this new movie, which is a prequel/sequel to the 2019 live-action film. He started writing songs for Mufasa in early 2022. The film premiered on December 20, 2024.
A movie version of In the Heights was planned for many years. In 2008, Universal Pictures announced they would make it. But the project was stopped in 2011. In 2016, it was announced that Miranda would help produce the film. Jon M. Chu directed the movie. Miranda played a small role as Piraguero, the "Piragua Guy." He felt he was too old to play Usnavi in the film. The movie was released in theaters and on HBO Max on June 10, 2021.
Imagine Entertainment announced in July 2018 that Miranda would direct his first film. It was an adaptation of Jonathan Larson's musical Tick, Tick... Boom!. Miranda produced the film, which was released on Netflix in 2021. In the same year, Miranda voiced the main character in Vivo. He also wrote eleven songs and was an executive producer for this Sony Pictures Animation film. It was released on Netflix in August 2021.
Television Appearances
Early TV Roles
Miranda also worked in television. In 2007, he had a small part in The Sopranos. In 2009, he played Juan "Alvie" Alvarez in House. He returned to this role in 2010. For Sesame Street, he sometimes acted and sang the theme song for "Murray Has a Little Lamb." He was a composer and actor on the 2009 revival of The Electric Company.
He also appeared in Modern Family in 2011. In 2013, he had a recurring role in the NBC drama Do No Harm. He later appeared in How I Met Your Mother in an episode where everyone spoke in rhymes.
Comedy and Other TV Projects
On April 24, 2016, Miranda performed a rap about Puerto Rico's debt crisis on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Miranda hosted Saturday Night Live on October 8, 2016. He played himself in two episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2017. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for both appearances. In 2019, Miranda was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Disneyland. Miranda sang the theme song for the Netflix series The Magic School Bus Rides Again. He played Amy's brother in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
In 2019, Miranda was an executive producer for the FX series Fosse/Verdon. This show was about the relationship between Broadway dancer Bob Fosse and his wife Gwen Verdon. Miranda also had a brief role in the series. The show was highly praised.
Miranda was cast as Lee Scoresby in the BBC series His Dark Materials (2019–2022). Critics liked his performance.
In 2019, it was announced that Miranda teamed up with TV producer Norman Lear. They made a documentary about Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno. It was called Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It. It premiered in 2021. Miranda also helped write lyrics for the song "Checks and Balances" for the 2021 Netflix animated series We the People.
Recent TV Roles
He appears as Hermes, the messenger of the gods, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This show premiered on Disney+ on December 19, 2023.
Personal Life
Family Life
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Miranda and his wife, Vanessa Nadal, went to high school together. They got married in 2010. Vanessa Nadal studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Fordham University School of Law. She worked as a lawyer from 2010 to 2016. At their wedding reception, Miranda and the wedding party performed a song from Fiddler on the Roof. His wife is from the Dominican Republic and Austria. This helped him with the German translation of Hamilton.
Miranda and Nadal have two sons. Sebastian was born in 2014, and Francisco was born in 2018. Sebastian was named after the crab from The Little Mermaid. This is one of Miranda's favorite movies. Sebastian was the first name listed in the "production babies" credits for Moana. Miranda said Sebastian speaks both English and Spanish, and some German. His son Francisco is also listed as a production baby in the credits for Vivo.
Miranda found out he is related to artists Residente and iLe from the band Calle 13. This happened during a concert in Puerto Rico in 2009. Their mother told them about their connection to Gilberto Concepción de Gracia. Miranda and Residente have since confirmed they are related. In 2017, Miranda performed on Residente's first album.
Miranda is also a cousin of professional baseball player José Miranda.
Activism and Support
After meeting with President Barack Obama in March 2016, Miranda joined US Senators and other lawmakers. They asked Congress to help Puerto Rico with its $70 billion debt. Miranda was very active after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. By December 2017, money from his song "Almost Like Praying" helped raise $22 million for relief efforts.
Miranda uses money from Hamilton to support Graham Windham. This is a non-profit adoption agency started by Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Miranda performs at their fundraising events in New York City. He also helps raise money for children in foster care.
He performed "Found/Tonight" with Ben Platt at the March for Our Lives rally. This event was against gun violence in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018.
To raise money for Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and María, Lin-Manuel decided to perform Hamilton in Puerto Rico. The Miranda family donated about $1 million to fix up the University of Puerto Rico theater. Tickets for the three-week show sold out in two hours. The show was moved to the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in Santurce. The production also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve this center.
In 2016, Miranda supported the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). This law aimed to help Puerto Rico with its debt. However, the law led to budget cuts. Over 200 public schools closed, and there were cuts to government worker benefits. The University of Puerto Rico also faced budget cuts. This led to protests, and the university closed due to student strikes in 2017. Miranda faced criticism because of his support for the bill. During a post-show event, Miranda met with protestors. He explained that he saw PROMESA as the only option at the time. He said he does not support the harsh budget cuts. He now believes Puerto Rico should get full debt relief.
Awards and Honors
List of awards and nominations received by Lin-Manuel Miranda
In 2015, Smithsonian Magazine gave Miranda their American Ingenuity Award for History. In 2019, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery gave him the Portrait of a Nation prize. The Hamilton Mixtape, an album of songs inspired by Hamilton, reached number one on the Billboard 200.
Honorary Degrees In 2009, Miranda received an honorary degree from Yeshiva University. He was the youngest person to receive such a degree from that university. Ed Koch, a former mayor of New York City, presented him with the degree.
In 2015, his old college, Wesleyan University, gave him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He also gave their graduation speech. In May 2016, he received an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. He also gave their commencement speech. In July 2016, The University of Puerto Rico gave him a doctorate. In July 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music in London, England.
Images for kids
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Lin-Manuel Miranda's signature
See also
In Spanish: Lin-Manuel Miranda para niños
