Lin-Manuel Miranda
Born 1980
He's Alive!!
Yes! Lin-Manuel Miranda is different from most of the other composers on this site because he's still alive, writing music and making major changes in the world of musical theater.
Lin-Manuel Miranda was born in New York City. His mother is a psychologist and his father is a consultant for the Democratic Party. His parents are originally from Puerto Rico and he grew up in an Hispanic neighborhood where he heard lots of Hispanic music. Lin-Manuel's parents loved playing Salsa music and singing songs from Broadway shows. As he got older up he developed a love for rap and hip-hop as well.
Miranda performed in school shows and started writing musicals when he was in High School. When he went to college, he studied music and composition and his first hit show "In the Heights" was composed and performed there. "In the Heights" was then performed on Broadway and won several awards. Lin-Manuel performed in the show. Even though "In the Heights" was a success, Lin-Manuel had to find other work as well. He performed at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, he taught English in his old high school, wrote restaurant reviews for a newspaper and composed music for commercials.
In 2010 Lin-Manuel married Vanessa and they have two sons. Lin-Manuel Miranda has worked as a composer, actor and singer. He has appeared in lots of small roles in TV shows and has also worked in many Broadway shows. He is someone who has changed the way people think about theater and musicals and has made a huge impact on the world of music.
Some of his famous hits are Hamilton, Moana, Encanto, In the Heights, Bring it On and Tick Tick Boom. Click here to go to his website and learn more about his work.
Hamilton
In 2008 Lin-Manuel read a biography of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States, who fought in the American Revolutionary War, helped draft the Constitution, and served as the first secretary of the treasury. Lin was inspired and wrote a rap about Hamilton. He continued to write raps about Hamilton and his life and eventually he created and starred in the hit show, "Hamilton - An American Musical". Hamilton was a huge success and made Lin-Manuel Miranda a star.
Disney Projects
Since 2015, Miranda has been working with Disney, composing and performing songs for movies. He wrote the music for Moana and Encanto. He has also contributed music for some of the Star Wars movies and Duck Tales and performed in Mary Poppins Returns.
Helping Others
One of the amazing things about Lin-Manuel Miranda is that he uses his fame and money to help other people. He donates some of the money he's made from "Hamilton" to an adoption agency that was started by Alexander Hamilton's wife. He raised money to help people in Puerto Rico after their homes were destroyed by hurricanes and he's been active in trying to help people in need.