Audra McDonald Opens Up About Troubling Times at Julliard

Show business ain't easy. Just ask Audra McDonald. In a recent interview with Alec Baldwin on his WNYC Studios podcast Here's The Thing, the six-time Tony Award winner opens up about her journey to becoming the woman she is today.

She tells Baldwin of her time at Julliard: "I felt out of place artistically. I felt all my life growing up in Fresno, California, all I ever wanted to do was be on Broadway and I thought let me audition for Juilliard. I just didn't think it through. Got in. everybody back at home is like "Wow, Audra got into Juilliard in New York. She's gonna make it." And I get to Juilliard and I'm studying classical music. And I'm like this isn't what I want to do. I don't want to be an opera singer. Surely they're going to let me go take some acting classes. Surely I can do some dance lessons. Surely I can audition for Broadway shows. No. You have to study..."

She continues; "I'm open about it because I think I'm a case of it gets better. So was lost in terms of that and feeling like I couldn't just quit and go back home because I would look like a failure back at home. And, you know, I had boy trouble while I was there. And so the combination of being where I wanted to be, in New York City, thinking I'm finally going to realize my dreams, stuck and failing miserably at Julliard. Not being able to admit to anybody at home what was going on."

Listen to the full interview below to hear Audra's full story...

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award, she was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2015 and received a 2015 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. Raised in Fresno, California, the Julliard-trained soprano is equally at home on Broadway and opera stages as she is in roles on film and television. Of her many roles, her favorites are those performed offstage: passionate advocate for equal rights and homeless youth, wife to actor Will Swenson, and mother to her children.