Leslie Grace

Leslie Grace
Grace in December 2018
Background information
Birth nameLeslie Grace Martínez
Born (1995-01-07) January 7, 1995
The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
OriginDavie, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2009–present
Labels
  • CD Baby
  • Top Stop (2012–2015)
  • Sony Latin (2015–present)
Websitelesliegrace.net

Leslie Grace Martínez (born January 7, 1995) is a Dominican American singer-songwriter and actress.[1][2] She starred as Nina Rosario in Jon M. Chu's In the Heights (2021).[2] She was the youngest woman in the world to top the Latin Airplay chart.[3] Her first hit was "Will U Still Love Me Tomorrow?"[3] She was going to play Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in the cancelled DC Extended Universe HBO Max movie Batgirl.[4][5]

Early Life

Martínez was born on January 7,1995 in New York.[6] Her family lived in the Bronx.[6] She had six older brothers and sisters.[6]

She moved to Davie, Florida when she was ten years old and then raised there. She is a Dominican American.[2]

Career

Martínez always liked performing. She started working as a singer. Her first album was released in 2009. It was called Pasión.

Martínez was the youngest female artist to have a number one hit on the Latin Airplay Chart and Billboard Tropical Songs chart.[3][6] In 2012 she was seventeen years and nine month old when "Will U Still Love Me Tomorrow?" became popular.[3] She was the fourth youngest person overall. She was only older than Pablo Portillo, Florentino Primera, and Luis Miguel.[2]

She received three Latin Grammy Award nominations for her music.[4] The first was for her 2013 album, Leslie Grace.[6]

Martínez's first acting role was the movie In the Heights.[7] She played Nina Rosario.[6]

Martínez then landed the part of Batgirl.[8] She will be in the new Batgirl movie that will be released in 2022.[8] For this movie, she had to learn to fight.[8] Her teacher, Ming Qiu, taught her fighting skills.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "CD Baby – Leslie Grace". CDBaby.com. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McCarthy, Esther (2021-06-17). "In the Heights: Leslie Grace on Her Staring Role in the Lin-Manuel Miranda Story". Irish Examiner – via ProQuest.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ramirez, Rauly (2012-10-16). "Leslie Grace Youngest Woman To Top Latin Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. 1 2 Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (July 21, 2021). "'Batgirl' Casts 'In The Heights' Star Leslie Grace as Superhero". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ Roiz, Jessica; Roiz, Jessica (2021-10-06). "'Bachatica' & 'Batgirl': Leslie Grace Talks First Solo Song in Five Years & 'Fight-Training' For Movie Role". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Leslie Grace Talks Humble Beginnings and Larger-Than-Life Hollywood Roles (Exclusive) | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  7. ↑ Roiz, Jessica; Roiz, Jessica (2021-06-09). "Leslie Grace & Melissa Barrera of 'In the Heights' Obsess Over Broadway Classics: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Roiz, Jessica; Roiz, Jessica (2021-10-06). "'Bachatica' & 'Batgirl': Leslie Grace Talks First Solo Song in Five Years & 'Fight-Training' For Movie Role". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-03-01.