Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga or popularly known as Lea Salonga was born on February 22, 1971 in Manila, Philippines. She is a Filipina soprano singer and actress. She is famous for her lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon. Her performance led her to the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theater World awards. She is also the first Asian to play the roles of Eponine and Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She was also the voice behind the characters Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with the Disney company. Locally, Lea has received the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), the Philippine equivalent of OSCAR for Best Child Actress. She also won three Aliw Awards as Best Child Performer.

In 1978, at the age of seven, Lea Salonga made her professional debut in the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of Annie and joined several other productions. At the age of ten, she began her singing career when she recorded her first album Small Voice and received a gold certification. The duet Happiness was her first collaboration with her brother Gerard Salonga who later on worked with her as a musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. In 1988, her second album Lea was released. Lea Salonga had her own musical television show Love, Lea. She was a member of the cast of That’s Entertainment of German Moreno. She has acted in several films and family-oriented shows. She had performed for Queen Elizabeth II, George Bush and Bill Clinton. She also opened for international acts like Menudo and Stevie Wonder in their Manila concerts. She made her concert debut in the prestigious Carnegie Hall on November 7, 2005.

Lea Salonga briefly attended Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines in a pre-med course because she initially thought that she wanted to be a dermatologist. She took Philosophy and History at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan in the 2000 Spring semester. She married Robert Charles Chien on January 10, 2004 and they have one child named Nicole Beverly born on May 16, 2006. She has an estimated net worth of $18 million.

Earnings & Financial Data