Audra McDonald is an American actress and singer.

Audra McDonald's singing career flourished when she became a three-time Tony Award winner for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime.

In 2004, she won her fourth Tony Award her role in A Raisin in the Sun.

She reprised her role as Raisin for a 2008 television adaptation which earned her a second Emmy Award nomination.

In 2012, her portrayal of Bess in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess scored her fifth Tony Award.

Aside from being a stage actress, she performed with musical organizations such as the New York Philharmonic and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

In 2004, Carnegie Hall commissioned the song cycle The Seven Deadly Sins: A Song Cycle for McDonald, and she performed it at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.

McDonald has recorded four solo albums for Nonesuch Records. Her first album, Way Back to Paradise was released in 1998. Other albums are How Glory Goes in 2000, Happy Songs in 2002 and Build a Bridge in 2006.

Audra Ann McDonald was born on July 3, 1970 in Berlin, Germany. She studied classical voice as an undergraduate at the Juilliard School. She married Will Swenson in 2012 and has a daughter from her previous marriage to Peter Donovan.