Profile of Lea Salonga on Famous Like Me

Lea Salonga (born February 22, 1971 in Manila) is an actress and singer from the Philippines and has achieved international recognition. Her most notable performance is her portrayal of Kim, the title role in the play Miss Saigon.

Lea Salonga was born Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga to Feliciano Salonga and Ligaya Imutan. She spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City, Pampanga, before moving back to Manila, Philippines.

She and her family are devout Roman Catholics.

Career

At the age of seven, she made her professional debut by starring in the play The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She has since appeared in other plays, such as: Annie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound Of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon, The Fantasticks and Flower Drum Song.

She began her professional music career at the age of ten when she recorded her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold record. She has also hosted her own musical television show, Love, Lea, and opened for Stevie Wonder during his concert in Manila. At age 13, she won three Aliw Awards for Best Child Entertainer from 1981 to 1983. In 1983, her sophomore album, Lea was released.

Her biggest breakthrough came when she was selected to play the leading role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon in 1989. The play, based on the plot of Madame Butterfly and set during the final days of the Vietnam War, tells the story of Kim, a poor Vietnamese girl, and Chris, an American soldier, who fall in love with each other. For this performance, Lea Salonga was given the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Entertainment for the year 1989/1990. From its original London home, Miss Saigon moved to Broadway. Lea Salonga subsequently garnered the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

In 1993, Lea Salonga played the role of street waif Eponine in the Broadway production of Les Misérables, then flew to Los Angeles to perform the song "A Whole New World" (of Disney's Aladdin) at the 65th Annual Academy Awards, where the song won an Oscar. In the same year she released her self-titled international debut album with Atlantic Records, which has gone platinum and gold in parts of Southeast Asia.

Lea then played in various musical theater productions around the Philippines and Singapore. In 1997, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing was released to gold sales. It was followed up by Lea... In Love in 1998. By Heart followed two years later, both albums reaching multiple platinum status.

Lea was also the singing voice of Jasmine for Aladdin (1992) and Fa Mulan for Mulan (1998), films by Disney.

In 2001 and 2003, Lea replaced Ming-Na after a long absence in the role of Lien Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns. She has influenced Filipino singers such as Lalaine and Cassie Steele

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