Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (born April 28, 1986) is a Korean-American stage and television actress and singer, who performs in Broadway musicals and plays Tina in Glee.
Early life:
Ushkowitz was born in Seoul, South Korea; she was adopted at the age of three months and raised in East Meadow, Long Island, New York.Ushkowitz was raised Catholic and attended Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school known for its theater department in Hicksville, Long Island. She graduated in 2004, having performed in a high school production of Les Misérables, along with the role of Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods and Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project. Ushkowitz graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2007, performing again as Little Red Riding Hood, in Into the Woods.
Career:
Ushkowitz has been in show business since the age of 3. She has been on Sesame Street and other TV shows. Her first role in a Broadway musical was in a 1996 revival of The King and I.
Ushkowitz sang the American National Anthem at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden when she was 13. Before joining the cast of Glee, she was an understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Thea and Ilse in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening.
In 2009, she shot to fame playing Tina Cohen-Chang on Fox's musical high school show Glee. Her character faked a stutter for the first 9 episodes and later sang two solos, including "Tonight" from West Side Story and "True Colors." The role included a romance with Kevin McHale's character Artie, who uses a wheelchair. Ushkowitz toured the US and Australia with her castmates from Glee. She has known Glee co-star Lea Michele since they were eight years old; they also co-starred on Broadway in Spring Awakening.
Discography:
Main article: Glee Cast discography
* Glee: The Music, Volume 1 (2009)
* Glee: The Music, Volume 2 (2009)
* Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna (2010)
* Glee: The Music, Volume 3 – Showstoppers (2010)
* Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals (2010)