Alex Newell

Alexander Eugene Newell,^[1] born August 20, 1992, is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role on Glee as Unique Adams, and were a runner-up along with Lindsay Pearce on the first season of The Glee Project.

Personal life[]

Newell was born in Lynn, Massachusetts.^[2] Their father died of cancer when they were six years old, at which point their mother raised them as a single parent. They graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in 2012,^[3] where they were involved in their school's choir, improv club, costume club and also a member of their church choir.^[4] Newell was accepted into the Berklee College of Music for fall 2012, but they decided instead to move to Los Angeles to be on Glee when asked back for the fourth season.^[3]

Career[]

They were discovered on The Glee Project and became the runner-up in the show's first season.^[5] Newell was originally supposed to be on Glee for a two-episode arc^[5] in the third season, but became a recurring character in the fourth season.^[6] They became a series regular in the fifth season.^[5]

They were the first ever nonbinary actor to win a Tony Award for their role in Shucked on Broadway

They starred in Geography Club which was released on November 15, 2013.^[5]

Newell signed with Atlantic Records to release their debut album.^[5]

The Glee Project[]

Solos[]

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Audition Song)
I Will Always Love You (Dance-ability)
And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going (Tenacity)
I Will Survive (Sexuality)
His Eyes On the Sparrow (Generosity)
I Am Changing (Glee-ality)

Solos (In Duets)[]

Nowadays (Hannah) (Pairability)
Valerie (Hannah) (Pairability)

Solos (In a Group Number)[]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Individuality)
Firework (Individuality)
Bad Romance (Theatricality)
We're Not Gonna Take It (Theatricality)
Please Don't Leave Me (Vulnerability)
Mad World (Vulnerability)
Hey, Soul Sister (Dance Ability)
U Can't Touch This (Dance Ability)
Need You Now (Pairability)
Bulletproof (Tenacity)
Under Pressure/Ice Ice Baby (Tenacity)
Like A Virgin (Sexuality)
Teenage Dream (Sexuality)
True Colors (Believability)
The Only Exception (Believability)
Lean On Me (Generosity)
SING (Generosity)
Don't Stop Believin' (Glee-ality)
Raise Your Glass (Glee-ality)

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Platypus the Musical	Tatiana	Short film
2013	Geography Club	Ike

Television[]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	The Glee Project	Themselves	Season 1
2012	Home & Family	Themselves	2 episodes
2012–2015	Glee	Unique Adams	Recurring (Season 3-4, 6) Regular (Season 5)
2013	Masterchef	Themselves

Links and Social Networks[]

Trivia[]

They, alongside Blake Jenner, are the only Glee Project alumni to be upgraded from recurring to regular cast status.
- They are the only Glee Project runner-up to become a regular Glee cast member.
- They initially auditioned for the competition performing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, which they performed once again as a last chance performance in the sixth episode.
- They performed in drag on The Glee Project, which was incorporated into their Glee character.
They have been compared to Kurt and Mercedes.
Their sign for Vulnerability week was "gay."
They won an opportunity to guest star on two episodes of Glee's third season along with co-star Lindsay Pearce.
Their personal dream role on Glee is to play a love interest for David Karofsky. Source
They love it when people call them "Kurtcedes." Source
The cast member they were most excited to meet was Lea Michele.
They call people/people call them "BooBooFace."
They own over 80 scarves, and consider them their favorite accessory.
They were accepted into UC Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley).
They were in their high school's choir and on their school's football team.
Their first concert was Barney Live when they were five years old.
They cried when they knew they were coming back for Season Four of Glee.
They ship Brittana over Bram. Source
They got Darren Criss in 2012 Glee Cast Secret Santa.
They were born on the exact same day as Demi Lovato.