Lin Manuel Miranda was born of Puerto Rican decent in New York City in the early eighties and was raised in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Washington Heights. After completion of high school, Miranda attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut. It was here that he would get his beginnings as a playwright. He wrote and performed the first draft of his first successful stage musical, In The Heights, during his sophomore year in college (1999). The musical is a fictional story, based on Miranda’s childhood neighborhood (Washington Heights). After graduation, he met director Thomas Kail and the two of them revised the show, leading to a successful off-Broadway run and eventually opening on Broadway itself, casting himself as the main character. The musical was a hit, receiving 13 Tony Award nominations, four of which they won, including Best musical and Best Original Score.

After brief stints on television shows and various other song writing projects, Miranda struck what is now considered theatrical gold, his most well known work, Hamilton: An American Musical. This show took him over half a decade to write and revise and stage, but it was well worth it in the end. The show premiered off-Broadway in the Public theater in January of 2015, again with himself cast as the leading role. It’s since opened on Broadway in the Richard-Rodgers theater (the same theater In The Heights showed in). Miranda hosted daily performances outside the theater entitled Ham4Ham in which attenders would have the opportunity to enter a ticket lottery for a chance to see the show in the first row. In addition to having an incredible show, it was engagement with his audiences, both formal and general, that made Miranda so successful. The show still runs full time in New York City as well as Chicago, London, and San Francisco, and it also has two national tours. With each of these performances, Miranda receives a 3% royalty fee which, as you would expect, has lined his pockets quite nicely. He’s used this platform for political activism, especially calling for faster and increased aid to his hurricane-devastated homeland of Puerto Rico. The cast of Hamilton frequently raised money for various causes after shows (a practice they still continue today). These actions and interactions with the media, other celebrities, and even the common american, has helped build show brand that is not only incredibly profitable, but is beloved by the world.

Since leaving his Hamilton project behind, Miranda has starred in the Disney movie “Mary Poppins Returns” as well as writing the music for “Moana,” the upcoming live action “Little-Mermaid” remake, and even the new Star Wars trilogy. He continues to add value and personality to every project he touches, which in turn continues to make him as successful as he’s been.