Solea Pfeiffer is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

-born American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Eliza Hamilton in the first national tour of '' Hamilton'', which she landed after performing as Maria in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

'' at the Hollywood Bowl. Two years later, she starred in the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and ...

's production of '' Evita.'' She has been in a relationship with Kevin Csolak since 2020.

Education and career

Pfeiffer was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Washington. Her mother was African-American, and was adopted and raised in Boston, while her father is white. Her maternal grandfather was former congressman

Ron Dellums Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California ...

; she and her mother were able to connect with him a year before he died. Her parents are anthropologists at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

. Pfeiffer graduated from

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a BFA and attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

. Pfeiffer began her interest in music by taking violin lessons at four years old. She attended theater camps and performed in her middle and high school productions. At 21 years old, Pfeiffer was selected by

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was b ...

to perform as Maria in ''

'' at the Hollywood Bowl after the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

's artistic team showed him YouTube videos of her performing. A year later, she made her national tour debut as Eliza Hamilton in the Angelica Company of '' Hamilton'', earning positive reviews. In 2019, Pfeiffer shared the role of Eva Perón with Maia Reficco in the

's production of '' Evita'', Pfeiffer playing Perón from age 20–33. Pfeiffer earned positive reviews for her performance.

Performance credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeiffer, Solea 21st-century American actresses American stage actresses Living people Actresses from Seattle University of Michigan alumni American musical theatre actresses 1994 births Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art African-American actresses