Sharon Leal(I)
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Sharon Leal is a military brat. She was born in Tucson, Arizona. Sharon
then moved with her parents to the Philippines, till she was 6 years
old. She went to prayer-school there. Then, her parents packed up to
move back to the US and settled in Fresno, California. Her mother,
Angelita, who is Filipino, is a homemaker, and her father is
African-American. She has a step-father, Elmer Manankil. Elmer and
Angelita have a daughter, together. So, Sharon has a younger sister,
Kristina Manankil.
How she got started with the desire for performing. At the age of two,
Sharon sang into a microphone, and her parents taped her. This later
led to acting, which she began doing in community theater productions
as a teen. Sharon graduated from "Roosevelt High School of the Arts" in
Fresno. In 1993, she won a vocal scholarship at the "Santa Cruz Jazz
Festival", which enabled her to study with
Seth Riggs
(Michael Jackson's voice coach).
Sharon has also performed in various rap and R&B music videos. She has
sung in cabaret productions at B. Smith's, The Violet, and Steve
McGraw's, all in New York City, and played teenager "Dahlia Creed" on
the daytime soap opera,
Guiding Light (1952),
in the mid-90s. At New York Theatre Workshop: "Bright Lights, Big
City". Regional credits include "Little Shop of Horrors"-Arizona
Theatre Co., "Into the Woods"-Theatre Works CA and other shows like
"Ain't Misbehavin", "West Side Story", "Me and My Girl" and "Nunsense",
to name a few. Last performed on Broadway as "Mimi" in "Rent".
then moved with her parents to the Philippines, till she was 6 years
old. She went to prayer-school there. Then, her parents packed up to
move back to the US and settled in Fresno, California. Her mother,
Angelita, who is Filipino, is a homemaker, and her father is
African-American. She has a step-father, Elmer Manankil. Elmer and
Angelita have a daughter, together. So, Sharon has a younger sister,
Kristina Manankil.
How she got started with the desire for performing. At the age of two,
Sharon sang into a microphone, and her parents taped her. This later
led to acting, which she began doing in community theater productions
as a teen. Sharon graduated from "Roosevelt High School of the Arts" in
Fresno. In 1993, she won a vocal scholarship at the "Santa Cruz Jazz
Festival", which enabled her to study with
Seth Riggs
(Michael Jackson's voice coach).
Sharon has also performed in various rap and R&B music videos. She has
sung in cabaret productions at B. Smith's, The Violet, and Steve
McGraw's, all in New York City, and played teenager "Dahlia Creed" on
the daytime soap opera,
Guiding Light (1952),
in the mid-90s. At New York Theatre Workshop: "Bright Lights, Big
City". Regional credits include "Little Shop of Horrors"-Arizona
Theatre Co., "Into the Woods"-Theatre Works CA and other shows like
"Ain't Misbehavin", "West Side Story", "Me and My Girl" and "Nunsense",
to name a few. Last performed on Broadway as "Mimi" in "Rent".