Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer, lyricist, actor and playwright best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In the Heights. Born and raised in New York City, Miranda grew up in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. He attended Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School before earning his degree in theater studies from Wesleyan University in 2002.

Miranda began writing In the Heights during his time at Wesleyan. The musical debuted on Broadway in 2008 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. His breakout moment came in 2015 with Hamilton, which he wrote and scored. The musical earned 11 Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. He also performed in the original Broadway cast, portraying the titular role of Alexander Hamilton.

In addition to his Broadway success, Miranda wrote music for Disney’s Moana (2016), including the Oscar-nominated song “How Far I’ll Go.” He starred in Mary Poppins Returns (2018), directed Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021) and contributed music to Disney’s Encanto (2021), including the hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” In 2023, he appeared in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians as Hermes.

Miranda married high school friend Vanessa Nadal in 2010. The couple share two sons: Sebastian (born in 2014) and Francisco (born in 2018).