Phillipa Soo is an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton in the 2015 Broadway musical, Hamilton.
Background
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (alongside fellow Asian-American Broadway actress Lea Salonga), Soo spoke about her upbringing: "my dad is first-generation, so his parents were from China, and my mom was born and raised in southern Illinois, and she was involved in the arts
Education
Soo attended Libertyville High School from 2005 to 2008.
Soo graduated from The Juilliard School"s acting program in 2012.
Career
Soo is a Chinese-American of both white and Chinese heritage. My dad"s a doctor. I was very much always encouraged, but the mentality of "get your education" was still there." After graduating from Juilliard in 2012, Soo was cast as Natasha Rostova in the Ars Nova production of Dave Malloy"s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, based on Leo Tolstoy"s War & Peace. The show went on to transfer Office-Broadway to Kazino, a tent custom built for the show.
In 2013 she was cast in a small recurring role in the National Broadcasting Company television series Smash as the character Lexi.
She appeared in five episodes in the second season before the show"s cancellation. After seeing her in Great Comet, director Thomas Kail and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda asked her to take part in an early 2014 reading of the musical Hamilton, where she read as the leading female role, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.
Soo remained with the show through its Office-Broadway and Broadway debuts, and is currently performing the role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway. Soo became engaged to actor Steven Pasquale in February 2016.