Jaquel Spivey

{{Infobox person

| name = Jaquel Spivey

| image = JaquelSpivey-byPhilipRomano.jpg

| caption = Spivey at the 75th Tony Awards in 2022

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1998|11|13}}

| birth_place = Raleigh, North Carolina

| occupation = Actor

| education = Point Park University

}}

Jaquel Spivey (born November 13, 1998) is an American actor. He won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his starring role as Usher in the Broadway theatre production of A Strange Loop in 2022.{{cite news |last=Vincentelli |first=Elisabeth |title='I Deserve to Be Here': Riding His First Professional Gig to Broadway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/theater/jaquel-spivey-a-strange-loop-broadway.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 20, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507190703/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/theater/jaquel-spivey-a-strange-loop-broadway.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Keller |first=Ilana |title=Opening doors: Jaquel Spivey talks Tony-nominated 'A Strange Loop' role |url=https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/theater/2022/06/10/jaquel-spivey-tony-award-nomination-a-strange-loop/9807335002/ |newspaper=Asbury Park Press |date=June 10, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116045108/https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/theater/2022/06/10/jaquel-spivey-tony-award-nomination-a-strange-loop/9807335002/ |url-status=live }} He also earned a Grammy Award nomination for the cast recording of the show.{{cite news |title=Grammy Awards 2023: The Full List of Nominees |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/arts/music/grammys-nominee-list-2023.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 15, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=November 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115213745/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/arts/music/grammys-nominee-list-2023.html |url-status=live }}

Personal life and career

Spivey grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, raised by a single mother, before moving to New Jersey to live with his aunt. Spivey stated that he grew up "in a household of black women" who he credited for instilling confidence in him and his identity as "very feminine, queer, and outspoken."{{Cite web |last=Porter II |first=Juan Michael |date=2022-05-16 |title='Feminine, queer, and outspoken,' Broadway's Jaquel Spivey reimagines the definition of Broadway's leading man |url=https://www.queerty.com/feminine-queer-outspoken-broadways-jaquel-spivey-reimagines-definition-broadways-leading-man-20220516 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409084534/https://www.queerty.com/feminine-queer-outspoken-broadways-jaquel-spivey-reimagines-definition-broadways-leading-man-20220516 |archive-date=2024-04-09 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Queerty}}

He graduated from Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey. He attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received a degree in musical theatre in May 2021. At Point Park, he portrayed Louis in a production of Sunday in the Park with George.

After Larry Owens left A Strange Loop following its off-Broadway run, Spivey was cast as Usher in July 2021 when the show transferred to Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., for a seven-week tryout. The show then moved to New York City at the Lyceum Theatre, with Spivey making his Broadway debut with the opening of the production in April 2022. A Strange Loop earned 11 Tony Award nominations in 2022, including one for Best Actor in a Musical for Spivey's performance. Spivey, as the principal vocalist, and the rest of the cast received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. Spivey won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical,{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Lindsey |title=Six, Company & Clyde's Lead 2022 Drama Desk Awards |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/202305/six-company-clydes-lead-2022-drama-desk-awards/ |website=Broadway.com |date=June 8, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507192207/https://www.broadway.com/buzz/202305/six-company-clydes-lead-2022-drama-desk-awards/ |url-status=live }} He was also nominated for a Distinguished Performance Award for the Drama League Awards,{{cite news |last=Rosky |first=Nicole |title=2022 Drama League Awards Nominations Announced- Full List! |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2022-Drama-League-Awards-Nominations-Announced--Full-List-20220425 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |date=April 25, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523104601/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2022-Drama-League-Awards-Nominations-Announced--Full-List-20220425 |url-status=live }} and won the Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Actor in a Musical and was honored with a Theatre World Award.{{cite news |last=Marius |first=Marley |title=Jaquel Spivey Is On the Ride of His Life |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/jaquel-spivey-a-strange-loop-profile |magazine=Vogue |date=June 14, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507190705/https://www.vogue.com/article/jaquel-spivey-a-strange-loop-profile |url-status=live }} A Strange Loop closed on Broadway in January 2023.{{cite news |last=Tran |first=Diep |title=Michael R. Jackson Has Made Peace with A Strange Loop Closing on Broadway |url=https://playbill.com/article/michael-r-jackson-has-made-peace-with-a-strange-loop-closing-on-broadway |website=Playbill.com |date=January 10, 2023 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507192207/https://playbill.com/article/michael-r-jackson-has-made-peace-with-a-strange-loop-closing-on-broadway |url-status=live }}

In December 2022, Spivey was cast as Damian Hubbard in Mean Girls, a film adaptation of the Broadway show of the same name, which itself is based on the 2004 film Mean Girls.{{cite news |last=Galuppo |first=Mia |title='Mean Girls' Movie Musical Sets Cast |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mean-girls-movie-musical-sets-cast-1235278432/ |website=HollywoodReporter.com |date=December 9, 2022 |access-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209210103/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mean-girls-movie-musical-sets-cast-1235278432/ |url-status=live }}