Celia Rose Gooding (; born February 22, 2000) is an American actor and singer. They made their
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut and
rose to prominence for the role of Mary Frances "Frankie" Healy in the
rock musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
''
Jagged Little Pill
''Jagged Little Pill'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995, through Maverick (company), Maverick. It was her first album to be released worldwide. It marked a stylistic departure from the dan ...
'' for which they won a
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album producer, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more play ...
and was nominated for a
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees in the category at age 20. Their mother is
LaChanze
Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; born December 16, 1961), is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson ...
, an American actress, singer, and dancer. Gooding plays the role of
Nyota Uhura in the
Paramount+
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
original series ''
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' (2022present).
Early life and education
Gooding was raised in New York, New York. They were born to actress, singer and dancer
LaChanze
Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; born December 16, 1961), is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson ...
,
and Calvin Gooding, who died in the
September 11th attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
. They have one sister, Zaya.
Gooding attended the
Hackley School
Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York, and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by a wealthy philanthropist, Frances Hackley, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian alt ...
in Tarrytown, New York, with their sister, and graduated with honors in performing arts. They occasionally took leaves of absence from high school to do readings for a musical they were involved in developing, ''
Jagged Little Pill
''Jagged Little Pill'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995, through Maverick (company), Maverick. It was her first album to be released worldwide. It marked a stylistic departure from the dan ...
''. In the workshop during their junior year, they had three hours of tutoring in the morning before rehearsals, to replace regular schooling. Their senior project revolved around their participation in the show's out-of-town tryout at the end of their senior year. Their other training included studying dance at the Alvin Ailey Institute and studying Acting and Film with a concentration in Shakespeare at the Berridge Conservatory in Normandy.
In 2018, Gooding began attending
Pace University
Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...
. They initially double majored in Musical Theatre and Child Psychology; they dropped the latter major during their second and final semester. They left Pace after their freshman year, as rehearsals for the Broadway run of ''Jagged Little Pill'' started in September 2019.
Acting career
Gooding first wanted to become an actor when she watched her mother win the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for ''
The Color Purple'' in
2006 on TV. However, she only started participating in musical theatre productions in ninth grade. Throughout their high school experience, Gooding played various roles such as Carmen in the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy's production of ''
Fame''.
In 2017, at age 17, Gooding was cast in the first 29-hour reading of ''
Jagged Little Pill
''Jagged Little Pill'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995, through Maverick (company), Maverick. It was her first album to be released worldwide. It marked a stylistic departure from the dan ...
'',
an original musical written by
Diablo Cody
Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...
based on the music of
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-winning artist
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...
, that included stars such as
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honori ...
. She originated one of the lead roles of the show, Frankie Healy: a 17-year-old black, bisexual activist who was adopted into an affluent white family in a suburb in Connecticut. She participated in the 2018 lab and later the world premiere of the show at the
American Repertory Theatre
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts in May 2018.
Gooding reprised their role as Frankie when the show transferred to Broadway in November 2019 at the
Broadhurst Theatre
The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for the Shubert brothers. The Bro ...
. She received accolades including Broadway World's Debut of the Month,
a Clives Barnes Award nomination, and Broadway.com's Debut of the Year. She was also honored as one of BET's Future 40. She also performed on ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers
''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknight ...
'', ''
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...
'' with
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...
, and ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
''.
In 2019, Gooding and her mother,
LaChanze
Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; born December 16, 1961), is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson ...
, made history by becoming the first mother and daughter ever to perform on Broadway at the same time, with LaChanze starring in ''
A Christmas Carol'', and Gooding starring in ''Jagged Little Pill''.
Gooding received accolades for their performance in ''Jagged Little Pill'', which closed indefinitely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. They received the award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical at the inaugural
Antonyo Awards
The Antonyo Awards are awards recognizing excellence of Black artists in theatre. Founded in 2020, the awards ceremony was produced by Broadway Black and honors Black artists from both the Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre communities.
Founding an ...
and was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. She also participated in the 2020 Playbill Pride Spectacular along with co-star
Lauren Patten.
She appears in the
Paramount+
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
series ''
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' as
Nyota Uhura.
On September 24, 2021, Gooding announced that they would not be returning to ''Jagged Little Pill'' due to alleged transphobic and abusive treatment of the show's non-binary cast members.
Personal life
Gooding is
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...
and
grey asexual. She also has two cats named Pongo and Sushi. Gooding goes by ''she'' and ''they'' pronouns.
Activism
Gooding has been particularly vocal about the issues surrounding being Black on Broadway. They participated in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' "Offstage" program in June 2020 that discussed racial justice on Broadway, a panel on ABC about the realities of being black on Broadway for
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...
, and a Black Theatre Matters benefit panel hosted by Samantha Williams.
Because of her participation in the show ''Jagged Little Pill'', Gooding has also been vocal about justice for the LGBTQ+ community and the
interracial adoption
Interracial adoption (historically referred to as transracial adoption) refers to the act of placing a child of one racial or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another racial or ethnic group.
Interracial adoption is not inherently the same as ...
adoptee community.
They participated in a panel for normalizing consent and advocacy for sexual assault victims for the summer 2020 series, ''Transformation 2020: Popular Democracy Defined'' with co-star
Kathryn Gallagher
Kathryn Gallagher (born July 23, 1993) is an American singer and actress best known for her portrayal of Bella Fox in the Broadway musical ''Jagged Little Pill'', for which she received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and a nomina ...
.
Acting credits
Film
Television
Theatre
Discography
Cast recordings
Accolades and honors
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gooding, Celia Rose
2000 births
Living people
Broadway theatre people
American musical theatre actresses
American stage actresses
African-American actresses
Bisexual actresses
Grammy Award winners
LGBT African Americans
20th-century African-American women singers
21st-century African-American people
21st-century LGBT people
21st-century African-American women
American bisexual actors