Celebrity crush: Lea Michele

Here's the first -- but not the last -- entry to feature a star from the TV series Glee. Amazon and iTunes links follow. Any affiliate payments earned from your purchase or rental will help pay the hosting fees for my podcasts, so please consider clicking.

Name: Lea Michele (images -- some NSFW | Web site | Twitter)
Hometown: She was born in The Bronx and grew up in Tenafly, N.J., according to her Wikipedia profile.
Best Known For: Lea was a successful Broadway performer before landing the lead role of Rachel on the musical dramedy series Glee, a show that Ye Olde Podcaster fiercely resisted watching until about two-thirds of the way through its first season because he is usually quite adverse to musicals, unless they're parodying the genre or have a serious mean streak.

(There are exceptions. Once was brilliant. I liked Rent. The Buffy musical episode "Once More, With Feeling" and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog are both genius. And I have a soft spot in my heart for Sweeney Todd, though I haven't seen the Tim Burton-Johnny Depp film version.)

But I digress. Her work on Glee has made her part of an ensemble that has broken records in terms of sheer volume of songs hitting the music charts. Prior to the series, she was part of the well-regarded musical Spring Awakening, an edgy tale of blossoming sexuality with music by former power-pop performer Duncan Sheik.

Humble Beginnings: Early Broadway works include Les Miserables (at 8 or 9), Fiddler on the Roof, and Ragtime. She also appeared as an actress in one episode of the TV drama Third Watch when she was 13 or 14; I don't list that below due to my normal policy of only featuring works done as an adult, but I will include some musical recordings from before she was 18.
Obligatory Edgy Stuff: While she's done a bit of charity and advocacy work for issues and groups that are controversial (PETA), even if they don't all deserve to be (gay rights issues), probably the biggest gossip surrounding Lea is the perhaps inevitable "diva" label. Ye Olde Podcaster takes no stance on the veracity of any such rumors, just acknowledges they're out there.

Some magazine photo shoots she has done since Glee exploded as a pop culture phenomenon have also raised eyebrows and brought some criticism, both because Lea (and co-star, fellow photoshoot subject, and fellow celebrity crush profilee Dianna Agron) is among an ensemble playing high-school students -- never mind she's in her 20s, the Hollywood norm -- and because she'd already made a mark for herself as a singer, dancer, and actress without taking her clothes off (topless love scene in Spring Awakening aside). Ye Olde Podcaster takes no real stance here, either; it would be hypocritical to condemn the publication of photos he saw and enjoyed, and the photos running with this profile don't exactly feature her modeling the latest in burqa couture.

With Glee co-star Dianna Agron.

Why Ye Olde Podcaster Likes Her: Besides being an unconventional beauty, Lea can sing -- though the Glee stars are often AutoTuned to the point of absurdity -- and has proven a versatile comic actress, usually at the expense of her character on that series' dignity.
TV and Web series credits: Glee, season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * Glee, season 1 (Amazon | iTunes)
Voice work: Dorothy of Oz (2012) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Cleveland Show, season 2: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?" (Amazon | iTunes) * The Simpsons, season 22: "Elementary School Musical" (Amazon | iTunes)
Film and TV-movie credits: New Year's Eve (Amazon | iTunes)
Musical work: Too many works too list with Glee cast (Amazon | iTunes) * The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition (Amazon | iTunes) * Spring Awakening: Original Cast Recording (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * Fiddler on the Roof: Revival Cast Recording (2004) (Amazon | iTunes) * Ragtime: Original Cast Recording (1998) (Amazon | iTunes)