Tony Award-Winner Alex Newell Named Time Magazine's Breakthrough of the Year

Newly-minted Tony-winner and independently owned Broadway diva, Alex Newell, has been given the distinction of Breakthrough of the Year in Time Magazine's annual People of the Year Issue.

Alex Newell joins the esteemed list of honorees for their barrier-breaking work on stage and screen, after becoming one of the first two non-binary actors to win Tony Awards, sharing the milestone with Some Like It Hot star J. Harrison Ghee.

Alex discussed their win with Time, saying of the evening, "It was the perfect storm. You think about, “Well sh-t, how am I gonna get up these stairs? Will I fall if I go up these stairs? It’s really, really hot. This could be anyone’s. Please say my name.” You have everything spiraling at one time. My mother could feel me shaking, and she just grabbed my hand."

In terms of their goals as an artist, Alex shares, "Normalcy. I want every story that someone has, that’s personal to them, to be something that is not taboo, but normal. I don’t want to ever feel othered, and I don’t want anybody else like me to feel [othered]. I want any story that I tell to just be another run-of-the-mill story that just happens to look like me and be who I am."

Read their full profile here.

Alex Newell has an extensive list of credits both in Broadway and television, and is currently starring in Shucked on Broadway. TV credits include the recent fan favorite “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” along with the Emmy®-nominated Christmas special; “Our Kind of People,” and two hit Fox series, “Empire” and “Glee.” Alex has received overwhelming accolades and award nominations including Critics Choice, Gold Derby, Screen Actors Guild, and Hollywood Critics Association. Broadway credits include Once On This Island, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album, and the show won the Tony for Best Musical Revival. Recently, Alex starred in the pre-Broadway show, The Last Supper. As a singer, Newell has released tracks with Clean Bandit, Blonde, and The Knocks.