Paloma Garcia-Lee

Garcia-Lee was born in Minneapolis. She was raised in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where she attended St. Andrew's Catholic School until the fifth grade, being moved to homeschooling following the September 11 attacks. She would be trained in ballet by her mother Terri Garcia, a former Broadway dancer who performed as Francisca in a touring production of West Side Story. She began attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts at the age of 14 to study ballet, but would ultimately graduate from their School of Drama in 2008. During her time at UNCSA, she would perform in a production of West Side Story as Graziella. Garcia-Lee would spend summers with dance companies such as the American Ballet Theatre and Complexions Contemporary Ballet to further study. ==Career==

Garcia-Lee made her Broadway debut at the age of 17 in a production of The Phantom of the Opera in 2008. Other theatre credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It, On the Town, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Moulin Rouge!. She would also be announced to be playing Graziella again in the Steven Spielberg theatrical film version of West Side Story. Garcia-Lee lobbied for the role, based on hers and her mother's histories with the musical. She auditioned in the fall of 2018, and secured the role in November. Garcia-Lee had previously been in contention for the role when the musical was revived in 2009, and would also decline offers to play the characters Mugsy and Anybodys in other productions in favor of playing Graziella. which premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest festival. In 2024, she would appear in episodes of the television shows Elsbeth, Doctor Odyssey and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, as well as performed in a production of Nine at the Kennedy Center that August. ==Personal life==

Garcia-Lee is married to actor Paul A. Schaefer, with whom she practiced an open marriage. ==Filmography==

Film Television ==References==