Lea Salonga began her singing career at the age of ten, when she recorded her first album, Small Voice. She also hosted her own musical TV show, "Love, Lea". She starred in "Miss Saigon" and was then offered the role of the singing voice of Jasmine in the Disney film Aladdin. She has continued to record albums. Lea has performed for Queen Elizabeth II, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1991] Brother, Gerard, is a multi-talented musician and symphony orchestra conductor. He is presently the associate conductor of the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. Has an adopted sister, Sheila. Bought herself a white Lexus IS300 E-Shift Sedan with ivory interior on her birthday in 2002. For the longest time, her dream role was Eva Perón in the musical Evita. Briefly attended Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines (mid-1988 - early 1989) in a pre-med course. She initially thought she wanted to be a dermatologist. Took two basic introductory courses [one in Philosophy and the other in European History] at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan during Spring semester, 2000. Won Broadway's 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Miss Saigon." The first Filipina ever to win the prestigious Tony Award for her role as Kim in the Broadway Musical "Miss Saigon" Was the first full-blooded Filipina to have won the Olivier (1990), Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Awards (1991) for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in "Miss Saigon". [7 November, 2005] Concert debut at Carnegie Hall. Uses the name "Manang" as her Internet chat code name. Manang means elder/eldest sister in Tagalog (the national Filipino language). Gave birth to her first child with husband Robert, daughter Nicole Beverly, on May 16th, 2006 in Manila. The baby weighed in at 6 lbs, 10 oz.