GLEE’S JENNA USHKOWITZ IS OUR COVER GIRL FOR SPRING!
BY SADE ADELEKAN
JENNA USHKOWITZ: TRUE COLORS
She walks into the studio, warm, toothy smile first, the kind tailor-made for a Crest commercial. Gone is the dark make-up, studded cuffs and blue-streaked hair of her GLEE alter-ego Tina Cohen-Chang. What remains is a beautiful, assured, yet bubbly woman; a woman who clearly knows who she is. At the ripe young age of twenty-four, Ushkowitz has been in ‘the business’ for over twenty years, starting out as a cute-as-a-button little girl on Sesame Street and blossoming into roles in productions of Les Misérables, The Laramie Project, the Broadway revival of The King and I and Spring Awakening. All this, leading to her most important role to date, as resident Goth and retired stutterer on the smash hit show, GLEE. There is a lot to unearth about this rarest of talents, and the more you know, the more there is to love.
JENNA FILES:
NICKNAME: J.U.
FAVE DESIGNER: Qi Sweaters, Christian Louboutin, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Alternative Earth
BEAUTY SECRET: Natural. Less is more.
I LOVE MY… iPad
QUIRKS/PHOBIAS: Spiders.
LAST TWEET: “Good Morning, what’s going on world?”
BEST MOMENT ON GLEE SET: Everyday.
HYDROGEN MAGAZINE: Let’s start at the beginning because I think you have an inspiring story. You were born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted at a few months old. How did that impact you growing up, if at all?
JENNA USHKOWITZ: Being adopted has only made me appreciate my life more. I have had the best life and opportunities, surrounded by an amazing support system. Being adopted was never an issue, or a “matter,” my parents always told me that I was their gift. I live life to the fullest and appreciate every moment I’m given.
HM: You got your start on Sesame Street at all of three years old, which I happen to think is very cool. Were you a kid who loved to ham it up for the family or did your parents think this might be a good path for you to go down, perhaps recognizing early talent?
JU: Well, I started in commercials and print at 3. I was definitely the kid in the restaurant going up to other tables and saying hello, so my parents saw that I definitely wasn’t a shy child. They put me in the business and once I started booking jobs, it kind of took off from there. I wanted to try it all. I got a taste of Television work on Sesame Street and all the while, taking dancing and singing lessons to pursue theatre as well. Once I got “The King and I” on Broadway at 9, I realized theatre was the right track for me at the time. I think my parents definitely noticed that I had the itch to entertain from a very young age.
HM: GLEE is popular with everyone it seems and rightly so, but particularly with young teens and high school students who look up to you. First of all, do you feel like a role model or are you even comfortable with that title?
JU: It is still weird to me to think that I am a role model. I had so many role models growing up that affected my choices as a teen. I like to think of it as a responsibility. It is a gift and it must be handled with care. I am so appreciative that I can set an example for them. It is most important for me to spread the message that different is good and to never, ever stop working towards your dreams.
HM: You made your mark early in the entertainment industry in musical theatre and in plays. You were in Les Miserables, Spring Awakening, The Laramie Project among many others. I am particularly interested in your experience working on The Laramie Project which is based on the murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, which made national headlines. How were you impacted by the project?
JU: It was actually an amazing experience. I did it in my high school, which was a Catholic school, so that alone was a bit of a controversy. The Laramie Project was a huge eye opener for me and it touched my heart in so many ways. I felt privileged to be able to share Mathews story with people. It was a very challenging role and a very emotional time while working on it. I played Matthew’s best friend Romaine Patterson and I got to meet her while in rehearsals. It made the role so real and personal and I will never forget that. Looking at it now, I am so grateful that my theatre teacher had the guts to do it. Although these hate crimes are unfortunately still an issue, I am still in touch with the Matthew Shepherd Foundation, because of GLEE, so it comes full circle.
source: hydrogen-mag.com
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