Darren Criss

Actor and singer Darren Criss majored in theater before graduating from the University of Michigan in 2009. Prior to graduating, he and his friends wrote and produced A Very Potter Musical, which they released on YouTube. This made Criss a YouTube sensation and served as the launchpad for his theater company, Starkid Productions.

One year later, he landed the role on Glee of Blaine Anderson, an openly-gay student from a rival glee club at Dalton Academy. He remained on the show through the sixth and final season, which ended in March 2015.

In his first appearance on the show, Criss sang Katy Perry‘s “Teenage Dream,” which became the first song from Glee to debut at No. 1 on Billboard. The song sold more than 200,000 tracks in its first week.

He reunited with Glee creator Ryan Murphy in a 2018 miniseries, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Criss won an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

Murphy and Criss reunited again for 2020’s Hollywood, a Netflix miniseries, on which Criss also served as an executive producer.

Criss has also made a name for himself on Broadway, making his debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 2012. He went on to play the lead in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and American Buffalo. He originated a role for the first time with 2024’s Maybe Happy Ending, taking home the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical the following June.

After a decade of dating, Criss married Mia Swier in 2019. The duo welcomed daughter Bluesy Bell in April 2022 and son Brother László in June 2024.