Alex Newell

Newell was born on August 20, 1992, in Lynn, Massachusetts. Their father, a deacon, died of cancer when they were six years old, at which point their mother raised them as a single parent.
After four complete years of education in the first class of Kipp Lynn Academy, Newell moved on to and graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in 2012, where they were involved in their school's choir, improv club, and costume club; they were also a member of their church choir. They never had any formal voice lessons before landing their part on Glee. They have cited Donna Summer, Sylvester, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Beyoncé as their influences.
Newell was among 34,000 to submit an audition video in 2011 for the first season of Oxygen's The Glee Project. Newell's self-taped audition earned them over one million MySpace views as well as a spot among the 12 participants who competed…