Actress. Singer. Author. All-round winner at life. A year after the conclusion of Glee, we’re still talking about Lea Michele, and for all the right reasons too.
Actress. Singer. Author. All-round winner at life. A year after the conclusion of Glee, we’re still talking about Lea Michele, and for all the right reasons too.
Seven years ago, we met Rachel Berry – the ultra-ambitious female lead on musical comedydrama series Glee. With that, we got to know Lea Michele, the actress and powerhouse singer who had become one and the same with one of the most memorable TV characters of our time. Glee might have ended its run last year, but for Lea Michele – real name Lea Sarfati – the show must go on.
Since saying goodbye to the character that made her a star, Lea has been keeping herself busy. She’s released her fi rst solo album, Louder, and penned The New York Times bestseller, Brunette Ambition. Now, the former leading lady is acting alongside Emma Roberts on Scream Queens, a horror-comedy series by Ryan Murphy, the same creative mind behind Glee.
From geek to Greek
Think Lea Michele, and the last thing that comes to mind is a socially awkward sorority pledge in a neck brace. But it’s precisely because Hester Ulrich is such a far cry from vocal diva Rachel Berry that she took on the role for Scream Queens so readily.
“Honestly, having been offered this role, I knew nothing. But I did trust Ryan [Murphy] implicitly that he would create something for me that would be the most incredible opportunity to show people a different side and a different colour,” she tells their predecessors, the Hudsonberry (as fans endearingly named them) union happened without much fuss. There were no messy breakups to speak of, no who’s-cheating-on-whom. Just like the show they starred in, the couple’s relationship was nothing but wholesome in the public eye.
Which is why everyone was shocked on July 2013, when the crushing news came – Cory was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room from an apparent drug overdose. He was only 31.
At that time, the production of Glee’s fifth season was just about to begin. Much to the surprise of everyone, Lea jumped right back into work. The tabloids reported that the star was understandably inconsolable, but she was nothing but professional during this difficult time. There were no meltdowns to speak of. Instead, there was just a quiet resolve to soldier on.
“I never thought I would be in this position in my whole life,” Lea admitted during an interview with Elle Entertainment Weekly. “I can’t think of a better way to show people a different side of me than by playing Hester.”
It’s understandable that the starlet wants to put some distance between herself and her former act. If Hester is everything she isn’t, then Rachel is everything she is. Just like Rachel, Lea is a talented vocalist. In fact, she made her debut on Broadway at the tender age of eight, playing a young Cosette in Les Misérables. This was followed by roles in musicals such as Ragtime, Fiddler on the Roof, and Spring Awakening. It’s also no secret that Ryan specifically wrote the role of Rachel for Lea. The producer even called her the “heart of the show”, saying that Lea’s reel and real persona were very much intertwined.
Given this, the pressure for her to avoid being typecast was especially immense. In an interview with Buzzfeed, she says: “I think there’s definitely an issue with leaving such an iconic show, playing such an iconic character for so many seasons. I think that’s definitely an issue people face in this industry in trying to step into another job. So I was very conscious to make sure my next project was very different from Rachel Berry.”
But there’s one thing she absolutely wouldn’t do on Scream Queens: scream. “Ryan Murphy got me in a booth one day, and I said, ‘I am screaming twice, and you’re going to have to use it the entire season.’ I’m a singer!” she says three months after his death. “It’s very hard, and you have to be very strong to come out of this alive. But I think by doing the best for myself, by showing that you don’t have to lose yourself, maybe someone else will feel some sort of strength or comfort.”
Fast forward three years later, Lea has closed that chapter in her life.
“I feel like I was given the best part of Cory, and I’m thankful for that,” she tells Glamour UK.
Second wind
They say that wisdom comes with age. At 29, the multi-hyphenate is more than aware of the hits and misses in her career. The highs: Brunette Ambition, a memoir/self-help book/ cookbook that debuted third on The New York Times’ bestsellers list. So obviously, she’s followed it up with her second book, You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life, which hit the shelves last September.
Now the lows: her debut album Louder, which sold slightly less than half a million copies worldwide. The on Women’s Health. To our knowledge, that’s the only official diva-ish demand she’s made throughout her seven years in the limelight. Not a bad record, we think.
Real life vs reel life
Lea’s character on Glee plays out exactly like a Taylor Swift song. You know, the one who talks about how she’s on the bleachers while the star quarterback she’s got a crush on is dating the head cheerleader who wears short skirts. As the Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson relationship blossomed on the show, so did Lea and Cory Monteith’s. When they finally stepped out as an official couple in 2012, Gleeks all over the world cheered. “No one knows me better than Cory.
No one knows what it’s been like to go through this more than he does. Feeling like you have that net underneath you allows you to jump higher and go farther,” she gushed to Marie Claire in 2013. “He makes me feel like I can do anything. For the first time in my life, I feel really, really settled and happy. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”
Sure, the two main leads were not the first reel to real life couple. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie happened because of Mr & Mrs Smith, and over 50 years ago, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton heated things up on the set of Cleopatra. But unlike the scandals and headlines surrounding lead single “Cannonball” received favourable airplay and the album made it to fourth place on the Billboard 200 chart, but the overall performance was dismal by her own standards.
“The problem with the first record was that I would record a song, and then I would get it back from production and it would sound very different,” she tells Marie Claire, adding that she has a second album in the works where she’s more hands-on with the process.
While it remains to be seen if her turn on Scream Queens would be a highlight in her filmography (our bet’s on yes), one thing’s for sure – there’s nothing she can’t handle. And we’re very confident about this, because in the same interview with Marie Claire, Lea drops this truthbomb: “Everybody thinks you’re a star with roses being dropped at your feet. You have to take some punches. Now I have my groove… I am much more aware. I also don’t care as much. I am very content with me.” Aaaaaaaaand mic drop.
