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Birth of Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda was born on January 16, 1980 in Washington Heights, New York. He was born to Luis A. Miranda, Jr., a political consultant, and Luz Towns-Miranda, a psychologist. He is the youngest of two siblings; Lin has an older sister (Luz Miranda-Crespo). Lin's name came from a poem named 'Nana Roja Para Mi Hijo Lin Manuel'. -
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Lin-Manuel's Musical Influences
Growing up, Lin was surrounded by music in all forms. His mother would blast musical songs in the car and his dad loved "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". The Miranda family was not wealthy enough to go to Broadway shows, but that did not stop them from listening to musicals through disc recordings; Lin grew a love for theatre. Lin's school bus driver throughout his elementary years loved hip-hop and passed on this passion to Lin, which would become a big impact on his future career and life. -
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Schooling
Lin-Manuel Miranda attended Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. Both schools are located in the New York City area and are part of the Hunter College Campus Schools. The school district is the home to campuses of intellectually gifted children. Throughout his educational years, Miranda was part of his school's drama club, starred in several plays, and began writing musicals in school. -
Influence to Compose Music
"The Little Mermaid" is a Disney film that was released in 1989. This movie is about a mermaid who would do anything to have two legs. Ariel, the mermaid, would constantly swim to the surface to watch humans from afar. On one of her surface trips, she sees a human and falls in love with him. This leads her to make a trade with a sea witch, exchanging her tail for legs for three days. This movie is what inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to begin writing music. -
Lin-Manuel Miranda's First Written Musical
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and starred in his first ever musical in high school. The storyline was about a lunatic fetal pig that was out for revenge; it was based on a pig that Miranda had dissected in his biology class. The show was a total of twenty minutes and was directed by Chris Hayes, MSNBC host and author. -
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Wesleyan University
Lin-Manuel Miranda attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He began his college career in 1998 as a film/theatre major. Throughout college he performed in musicals and wrote his own songs. He was in different genres of plays, from musicals to Shakespeare. Lin began writing a musical that would spark off his playwright career. He wrote "In the Heights" his sophomore year of college, which would one day be one of his biggest works. Miranda graduated from university in 2002. -
Teaching
Following the end of his college career, Lin-Manuel Miranda was a substitute teacher. He only worked this job for about a year, along with writing restaurant reviews for the Manhattan Times. He specialized in seventh grade English. -
Campaign Jingles
Before Lin-Manuel Miranda spread his name in the musical industry, he was writing campaign jingles to help himself out. Luis A. Miranda Jr., Lin's father, was a political consultant, meaning he had political connections. Through these connections, Lin began writing campaign jingles for politicians like Fernando Ferrer, Eliot Splitzer, and Carl McCall. -
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Freestyle Love Supreme
In 2004, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale founded a hip-hop improv group called Freestyle Love Supreme. Unlike a usual scripted musical, the show is improvised, and the audience is allowed to participate in it. The group performed live at several theatres, such as Ars Nova and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2014, the improv group made a 10-episode series of their shows. Six years later, the group had their own documentary directed by Andrew Fried, and it premiered on Hulu. -
"In the Heights" Premiere
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and starred in his musical, "In the Heights". It premiered on July 23, 2005. In the Heights is based on Miranda's birth town, Washington Heights. The musical is over a course of three days. Usnavi, a bodega owner, must decide if he will close his store and retire in the Dominican Republic. Nina, Usnavi's childhood friend, returns from home from college with astounding news for her family. -
"In the Heights" Grammy Award
Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated in the category Best Musical Show Album for his musical "In the Heights". The musical won the category, beating its nominees The Little Mermaid, Young Frankenstein, Gypsy, and South Pacific. -
Influence on Hamilton
Ron Chernow wrote a biography in 2004 on Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers and first Secretary of Treasury. Four years later, Lin-Manuel Miranda was reading the non-fiction novel while on a summer vacation in Mexico. The story inspired him to write a play on the founding father; he began writing the play a year later. Lin added his own touch to the story, and wrote a hip-hop musical. It took Lin six years to finish writing the musical, and it officially premiered in 2015. -
"In the Heights" Tony Award
In 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" was nominated for a Tony award in the category Original Score. This prize is given to the best original written for a musical. Lin-Manuel won this category in 2008. -
Yeshiva University Honorary Degree
In 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda received an honorary degree from Yeshiva University, located in his hometown, Washington Heights. At the time he was twenty nine years old, making him the youngest person to ever receive an honorary degree from that university. Lin-Manuel was presented with the degree by Ed Koch, a former mayor of New York City who was in from 1978 to 1989. -
West Side Story Broadway
On March 19, 2009, West Side Story premiered on Broadway in the Palace Theatre. Lin-Manuel Miranda was part of the staff for this production. He was the translator for the musical; Lin wrote the Spanish dialogue. He worked alongside Stephen Sondheim to translate song lyrics from the original movie into Spanish. -
Lin-Manuel Miranda's Marriage
Lin-Manuel Miranda got married on September 5, 2010 to Vanessa Nadal. The two met in high school, but they didn't begin dating until years later when they found each other through Facebook in 2005. Miranda invited Nadal to his show, Freestyle Love Supreme, and from there the couple hit it off. They dated for 5 years until their wedding in 2010. -
Bring It On: The Musical
"Bring It On: The Musical" premiered on Broadway on August 1, 2012. Lin-Manuel Miranda was a lyricist and composer of the Broadway musical. He worked alongside Amanda Green and Tom Kitt. -
Birth of Lin's First Son
Vanessa gave birth to Lin's and her first son in 2014. Their first child's name is Sebastian Miranda. He is currently 6 years old, meaning he must have began school recently. -
21 Chump Street
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a short musical called "21 Chump Street". He was the playwright, lyricist, and composer of the play. 21 Chump Street is a fourteen minute musical is about a high school senior, Justin, who falls in love with a new student, Naomi. However, Justin does not know Naomi is actually an undercover cop searching for students that deal drugs. Justin gets drugs for Naomi thinking she wants some. Therefore, Naomi has to report him. She feels bad for this, but he is over eighteen. -
"Hamilton" Grammy Award
In 2015, the cast of Hamilton were nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Musical Theater Album, and they won. The whole cast, along with the producers, accepted the award. -
"Hamilton" Premiere
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and starred in his musical "Hamilton". It premiered on January 20, 2015. This musical is based on the true story of Alexander Hamilton, one of America's first founding fathers. Hamilton was an immigrant sent by his family from the Caribbean to America in hopes of a better future for him. Once he got to America, he got involved in politics and spread his name. From political schemes to family to forming new friendships, Hamilton's story is one of a kind. -
"Hamilton" Pulitzer Prize Award
In 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the category 'Drama' for his play "Hamilton". He won the Pulitzer Prize and was presented by Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger. -
"Hamilton" Tony Awards
In 2016, Lin-Manuel was yet again nominated in the Tony Awards. This time around, his musical "Hamilton" was nominated for two categories: Original Score and Book of a Musical. Book of a Musical is a prize given to the writer of the spoken dialogue and storyline of a musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda won both of these categories. -
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Activism
Miranda has been a part of several activist events. In March 2016, he joined Democratic lawmakers to pass a bill which would allow Puerto Rico, his homeland, to declare bankruptcy and lower their government's debt. He wrote a song called "Almost Like Praying" in honor of Hurricane Maria and donated a fund of $22 million to the Hispanic Federation for rescue and disaster reliefs. On March 24, 2018, Lin performed alongside Ben Platt in a Black Lives Matter rally. -
"Hamilton" Performance at White House
On March 14, 2016, the "Hamilton" cast performed at the White House for the President, First Lady, and assembly. Lin-Manuel Miranda was accompanied by Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Leslie Odom Jr., Christopher Jackson, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Phillipa Soo. The cast performed three selections from the musical, "Alexander Hamilton", "My Shot" and "Schuyler Sisters". -
"How Far I'll Go" Grammy Award
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the hit "How Far I'll Go" for the Disney movie production "Moana". The movie premiered in November of 2016. The following year (2017), the song was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and won. -
Birth of Lin's Second Son
Vanessa gave birth to Lin's and her second son on February 2, 2018. The couple's second son is named Francisco Miranda. He is currently 3 years old. -
Mary Poppins Returns
"Mary Poppins Returns" premiered in November 2018. Lin-Manuel Miranda played a side character named Jack, the lamplighter. His character fills in for the role of Burt from the original 1964 film. Jack joins Mary Poppins and the three children on their journey through London. Jack performs a song called "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" with the rest of the lamplighters in the city (image). -
His Dark Materials
Lin-Manuel Miranda is part of the cast of a fantasy drama series called "His Dark Materials". The show is about a brave young girl named Lyra who is on the search for her missing friend. During the journey, she discovers a sinister plot, which obtains stolen children. Lin's character, Lee Scoresby, is an aeronaut- a person who travels through a hot-air balloon or airship. -
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"In the Heights" Movie Remake
In 2005, Lin-Manuel Miranda had his first off-Broadway musical premiere. "In the Heights" was a hit, won many awards, and even made it to Broadway. Now, sixteen years later, a movie remake of this musical hit is being released. Anthony Ramos, John Laurens/Philip Hamilton on Hamilton, will be starring in the movie as Usnavi, the main character.
