25 Surprising Facts About The Soon-To-Be Married Lea Michele From 'Glee'
Actress and singer Lea Michele has certainly had an interesting career, succeeding in two major industries while many can't even succeed in one! She got her start on Broadway with roles in the theatre world and eventually decided to pursue acting on the screen and the stage as well. One of her first major roles which catapulted her to stardom was as the lovable and a little neurotic Rachel Berry on the teen musical hit Glee.
She achieved a ton of success at a young age but has managed to stay above all the drama and danger of Hollywood and come out healthy and happy. She's gone through her share of hardships over the years but remains a sunny presence in the industry.
And now, she's about to embark on a new adventure - becoming a wife! The starlet is set to be married soon, so in honor of her upcoming nuptials, here are 25 things you may not have known about the talented actress. We're not sure whether she's going to stay in the world of television or return to Broadway for good, but either way, we can't wait to see what kind of project she decides to tackle next!
25 She Got Into A Car Accident On Her Way To The Glee Audition
Lea Michele obviously snagged the role of Rachel Berry on Glee, but the audition process had a little bit of a dramatic twist that many fans don't know about.
On her way to the audition, just as she was pulling into the Fox studio lot, Lea actually ended up colliding with another car.
Crazy! She raced to the audition with broken glass still in her hair, as Boomsbeat reports, and managed to impress them. We have to admire her grace in such a crazy situation!
24 Her Ex, The Late Cory Monteith, Was The One Who Set Up Her Twitter Account
Lea Michele has gone through some major hardships, including the passing of her former partner and co-star Cory Monteith. However, she has a reason to think of him every single time she logs in to her Twitter account - it turns out he was the one who signed her up for the social media platform back in the day.
Cory came up with the name @msleamichele, and as Boomsbeat reports, he even put Rachel Berry as her password at first. What a cute gesture!
23 She Had Major Beef With Former Glee Co-Star Naya Rivera
Given that the cast were all young starlets getting started in their careers and learning how to navigate Hollywood, it probably comes as no surprise that there was some drama on the set of Glee.
One of the main rivalries was between Lea Michele and Naya Rivera, who plays Santana.
As Rivera wrote in her book, "I think Rachel - erm, I mean Lea - didn't like sharing the spotlight." Well, there's no denying that she was one of the breakout stars amongst the cast.
22 She Nearly Snitched On Glee To SAG For Poor Working Conditions One Day
Being an actress may seem glamorous, but being on set is actually a lot of hard work, as Lea Michele knows well. In fact, there was once an issue that almost prompted her to call SAG.
As Screen Rant reports, there was a day where the air conditioning system on set stopped working, and the cast was made to continue working, including performing their dance routines. She actually threatened to call SAG before someone finally came and addressed the heat issue on set.
21 She Made Her Broadway Debut At Just Eight Years Old
If you thought she snagged her first big acting role at a young age, just wait until you hear when she first made her Broadway debut!
Lea Michele stepped onto the stage of Broadway at just eight years old, having snagged the replacement role for Young Cosette in Les Miserables.
That's right - it wasn't some tiny off-Broadway play, it was a major production of one of the most famous musicals of all time. I mean, talk about a pretty amazing start in the industry!
20 She Was An Outcast In High School (Just Like Rachel Berry!)
Given how gorgeous and talented she is, it's a little tough to believe that Lea Michele would have ever been anything but super popular in high school, but it turns out that wasn't her experience at all.
As she told USA Today, "I am an unconventional beauty. I grew up in a high school where if you didn't have a nose job and money and if you weren't thin, you weren't cool, popular, beautiful." Well, forget high school - she's a superstar now!
19 She Took Toilet Paper From The White House
It's an honor for any celebrity to be invited to the White House, and when Barack Obama was the President of the United States, there were many celebrities who had the opportunity to spend some time there.
Lea Michele was one of them, going with the cast of Glee to sing for the president.
However, she got up to a little mischief while she was there - as she spilled to Us Magazine, she actually ended up taking some toilet paper as a bit of a memento!
18 She Has 14 Tattoos Hidden All Over Her Body
Lea Michele doesn't have a full sleeve of tattoos or any on her face or anything like that, so you wouldn't necessarily consider her one of the celebrities who has a ton of tattoos.
However, the starlet actually has a whopping 14 tattoos all over her body! The majority of them are very small, like the teeny tiny cup of coffee on her finger, and not immediately noticeable when you look at her. Still - we never would have guessed she had so many!
17 She's A Devoted Animal Lover (Although She's No Longer Vegan)
Lea Michele was vegan and vegetarian for many years, and while she no longer follows that way of eating anymore, she still is hugely passionate about animals.
You'll often spot Lea Michele at fundraising events that help various animal charities.
She always looks incredibly happy when she has the opportunity to cuddle a pup or an animal of some sort. We have a feeling she may become one of those celebs one day who has a whole stable of rescued pets.
16 She's Engaged To Someone Outside The Industry - Her Hubby-To-Be Is President Of A Clothing Company
Many, many celebrities end up marrying other celebrities because, well, you spend a lot of time in the industry and go to the same events and just end up finding the perfect match at one of them. However, Lea Michele managed to find love with someone who has absolutely nothing to do with the industry - a man named Zandy Reich, who is the president of AYR, a clothing company.
He's definitely no stranger to the glamour of Hollywood, though - he proposed to his wife-to-be with a 4-carat diamond ring that he personally designed with a jeweler.
15 Jonathan Groff Is Her Lifelong BFF
While they worked together for a while on Glee, these two didn't meet there - they met much earlier in life when they were both starring on Broadway in the hit musical Spring Awakening.
Leah Michele and Jonathan hit it off while they were co-starring on stage and have been besties ever since.
In fact, according to Hollywood.com, Groff just might end up being the man of honor at her wedding. We couldn't imagine a better person for the job! He'll be super supportive through it all.
14 She Was Obsessed With Hermit Crabs Growing Up
Lea Michele loves all animals, but her absolute favorite is a bit unusual. Rather than your typical dogs and cats or even smaller critters like hamsters or rabbits, when it comes to the perfect pet, Lea Michele is all about hermit crabs.
She told Us Magazine that she actually had about 20 hermit crabs growing up. No wonder she loves living in California - a quick trip to the beach, and she just might spot a few of the adorable critters in their natural habitat!
13 As A Kid, She Worked At Her Dad's Deli
Lea Michele may have gotten her start at a fairly young age on Broadway, but she definitely knows the importance of hard work outside of the entertainment industry.
In fact, when she was a kid, Lea Michele's father owned a deli and she actually worked there, helping the family out.
We have to wonder if she ever gave impromptu performances when the line got a bit too long and the customers needed to be distracted - goodness knows she has an amazing set of pipes!
12 Her Favorite Food Group Is Cheese
It's always fun to learn about what types of foods celebrities indulge in when they're treating themselves. And Lea Michele isn't the type to head straight to the dessert table for a decadent chocolate treat - instead, she's all about cheese.
As she told Popsugar, "my favorite [indulgence] is pizza. And mac and cheese. And grilled cheese. Anything with cheese. For dessert, I'll usually order a cheese plate rather than something sweet. I'd eat an entire block of Wisconsin cheddar over chocolate cake any day."
11 Alanis Morissette's Album Was The First CD She Bought In Her Life
Lea Michele was certainly heavily influenced by Broadway legends, but the very first CD she ever bought might just surprise you.
While she likely has quite a few Broadway soundtracks in her collection, the first musical purchase Lea Michele made was Alanis Morissette's iconic Jagged Little Pill.
In fact, she even admitted that she still has the album to this day, which is pretty impressive. We'd absolutely love to hear her take on some Alanis Morissette classics. We have a feeling she'd do Alanis proud.
10 Her Original Los Angeles Television Dream Was To Snag A Role On Grey's Anatomy
You might assume that Lea Michele went to Los Angeles looking for acting roles that also incorporating singing to blend the best of both worlds. However, that's not the case - as Hollywood.com reports, she initially moved to Los Angeles because she really wanted to get a guest role on the hit drama Grey's Anatomy.
There are definitely many actors and actresses who have snagged a spot on the show - Lea Michele didn't make that dream a reality, but she did get Glee, which is way better than a one-episode guest-starring role.
9 She's Utterly Obsessed With Barbra Streisand
It probably comes as no surprise that she has a strong love for Barbra Streisand, considering that she got her start in musicals, but you might not know just how obsessed with Barbra Lea really is.
Lea Michele mentioned in her book that Streisand was a huge inspiration for her, and luckily, she eventually got a chance to meet her!
We can't even imagine what she must have felt in that moment, getting the chance to meet her long-time idol!
8 Broadway Legend Audra McDonald Gave Young Lea Some Tricks Of The Trade
While the average television fan might only know Audra Mcdonald from her role on Private Practice, anyone who knows anything about Broadway knows that she's an absolute legend with an amazing set of pipes.
And, when Lea Michele met her when they performed together in Ragtime, Audra gave her some useful tips of the trade including how to breathe properly, how crucial it was to drink tea and water, and how to maintain her vocal health for the long term.
7 She's Super Into Journaling And Writing Down Goals
It's majorly inspiring to see what Lea Michele has managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time - and it turns out, she's super into journalling and writing down her goals, which helps her achieve all her success.
She admitted in an interview with Flare that her bestie Jonathan Groff got her into journaling, and she got into the habit of writing her goals down.
Now, pretty much all her dreams have come true - talk about a great advertisement for the power of journaling!
6 Her 2017 New Year's Resolution Was To Stop Being So Attached To Her Phone
Most people in this day and age have made a pact with themselves to limit their consumption of technology in some way, at some point or another. I mean, it's just not good to spend so much time preoccupied with our various devices!
Lea Michele believes in it so much that she actually set a New Year's resolution last year to spend less time on her phone. As she told Cosmopolitan, "it's my job, my family lives on the East Coast, it's how I communicate with people, but I really think it's important to just take a little time to not have that in your face."
5 She Roomed With Dianna Agron During The First Season Of Glee
When the show first started, the cast obviously had no idea whether or not it would be a success, so they didn't exactly race out to buy luxurious homes or apartments. Instead, they kept it simple and rented modest living quarters.
Lea Michele actually ended up renting an apartment with her co-star, Dianna Agron.
They didn't work out as roommates - Agron ended up being allergic to the cats they rescued - but they had fun living together while filming the first season.
4 She Loves To Be In The Kitchen Cooking
Now that she's a big star, Lea Michele could easily hire a private chef to prepare all her meals for her, but she's not ready to take that step quite yet - it turns out, she actually really loves being in the kitchen, as she admitted to Us Magazine.
"My go-to recipe is shaved radicchio, Parm and truffle whole-wheat pizza with a sunny side-up egg," she told Us. Uh, sounds absolutely delicious - maybe one day she'll decide to open a restaurant and share her recipe with us all!
3 Jessica Alba Is One Of Her Style Icons
Rachel Berry and Lea Michele have very different styles, and we absolutely love seeing the super chic outfits Lea Michele shows up on the red carpet in or even is captured in while out running errands.
When it comes to her style inspirations, Jessica Alba is at the top of Lea's list.
As she told Flare, "she always looks adorable but clean. And, you know, she's a friggin' [chief creative officer]. so that's definitely an inspiration for me." We don't blame her - we love Alba's style as well!
2 She Dropped Her Last Name Professionally Because She Was Teased About It
Many people assume that Lea Michele's real name is, well, Lea Michele - but it isn't! She actually ended up dropping her last name professionally back when she auditioned as a child, and it's stuck as her stage name ever since.
Her last name is Sarfati, which she admits to NY Daily News that she dropped because she got teased about it in school. Well, Lea Michele is definitely a lot easier to pronounce, so maybe it was a good call - you don't want the announcer stumbling on your name when they're announcing your award win!
1 She Majorly Upgraded Her Home In Los Angeles
Lea Michele has come a long way from her early days in Hollywood, so it only makes sense that she'd upgrade her home.
Her previous space, bought with her Glee proceeds, was an adorable 2-bedroom cottage (although, given that she sold it for $1.825 million according to TMZ, it certainly wasn't too shabby!).
She upgraded to a 4 bedroom, 4 bath home in Brentwood that she scooped up for $2.99 million. I mean, talk about an upgrade! We can't wait to get more of a glimpse into how she decorated her space.
References: US Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Shape, PopSugar
