Linedy Genao

Genao was born on May 27,[1] 1991,[2] in Brooklyn, New York, to a Dominican-American family. At age ten, she moved with her family to Hamden, Connecticut, where she performed in plays in middle school and Hamden High School.[3] After not being accepted to several performing arts colleges, Genao studied business at the University of Connecticut and worked in banking while continuing to do community theater.[3][4]

Genao's Broadway debut was in 2015, when she performed in the ensemble of On Your Feet!, a musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan. She got the part at an open casting call for Latino performers. When theatres had to close during the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to her previous profession, doing remote banking work. She has stated that she considered returning to banking full-time at the time but decided against it when she was offered to join the ensemble of Dear Evan Hansen as an understudy when it re-opened on Broadway.[3][5] In late 2022, she starred as Gloria in a production of On Your Feet! at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.[6]

Genao played the role of Cinderella in the Broadway production of Bad Cinderella at the Imperial Theatre, opening officially on March 23, 2023.[7] She was the first Latina woman to originate a leading role in a Lloyd Webber production.[8] The show closed on June 4, 2023.[9]

Genao is married and has two step-children.[10]