‘Hamilton’ Star: “If You Don’t Recognize Your Power, You Don’t Have It”

Renée Elise Goldsberry, on June 12, 2016 in New York City.
Walter McBride—Getty Images Renée Elise Goldsberry, on June 12, 2016 in New York City.

Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry on back-to-back shows, the best advice she's ever received, and family

One moment Hamilton Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry is onstage, the next she’s getting her kids off to school. We spoke to Goldsberry about how she mixes work, family, and self-kindness.

On how she stays healthy

“I take naps. I get home really late at night, and sometimes the only quality time I get with my children is when they get up in the morning. I was never a napper, but napping has saved me through the show.”

On what she wants for her kids

“[I want them to be] inspired by whatever their own talents are. When I first became a mother, I didn’t want my son to have any extra exposure to what I did. I had this theory that if he wanted to do what I do for a living, it should be organic and come from him, not from the fact that this was just what he saw all the time.”

On what she does if she fails

“I get back onstage. The beautiful thing about doing eight shows a week and [sometimes] several shows a day is that we don’t really have the opportunity to stew on whatever we didn’t get right, because there’s always another audience coming in here in a couple of hours and we can try again. That’s a blessing.”

On what she’s not the best at

“Cooking. I am good enough for my family, God love them!”

On the best advice she’s ever received

“From a friend in the industry, who said, ‘Power is not power if you don’t know you have it.’ She lives her life encouraging people she knows to recognize their power. Because if you don’t recognize it, you don’t have it.”

On what being onstage is like

“Sharing the magic.”

Tap to read full story

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com