In 2013, Renée Elise Goldsberry had everything she wanted. She was finally a mother with two young children and a successful theater and television career. She was content. Then she got a call to audition for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new project. At first, she said no. The project, it turned out, was Hamilton.
“I’m not an idiot. I was a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda from In the Heights. I knew the genius. I just didn’t think that they would cast me for the show,” Goldsberry tells Rolling Stone. Eventually, after turning down the show several times, she capitulated and accepted the role of the fiery Angelica Schuyler. With her as one of its stars, Hamilton would go on to be the most sought-after theater ticket in town, launching the ultimate rap battle-history lesson straight into the cultural zeitgeist.
“[Casting director] Bernie Telsey was really excited: ‘Renée Goldsberry’s coming in to audition!’ It was this feeling of, ‘We found her,” Miranda remembers. Goldsberry’s co-star Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr and will be returning to Hamilton this fall, adds, “The truly great performers, their art is about how much they’re willing to reveal. I just would trust her with anything. I feel that way about her on stage. It doesn’t stop once we take our bows.”
After portraying Angelica for three years (including a 13-month Broadway run and later a Disney+ adaptation), Goldsberry had been keeping busy performing solo concerts and landing roles on television shows like She-Hulk and Girls5Eva. Now, Goldsberry has embarked on a completely new adventure: She’s releasing her first solo album, Who I Really Am on June 6, packing the project with 13 tracks that runs the gamut from love to heartbreak and everything in between. “I’ve been writing music for a long time. I dreamt of being in Lilith Fair many decades ago,” she says. “One of the greatest ways to be a storyteller is to be a singer-songwriter. “
“She’s such a chameleon, her voice can do a million things,” her longtime friend and Girls5Eva co-star Sara Bareilles explains. “To this day, I can’t listen to ‘Satisfied’ without it bringing tears to my eyes. There’s so much truth. That’s what makes Renée a great artist.”
A version of “Satisfied” actually makes its way onto the new project, with Goldsberry singing all the parts herself. “Satisfied” is a famously tricky song,” Miranda says. “Some people make a meal out of how fast they’re rapping. Renée does the opposite. She thinks that fast. She’s insane. It’s a song at the speed of her brain, which is why she’s Angelica.”
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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Goldsberry shares more of the stories behind Who I Really Am and explains why she waited until now to release the project now. She also looks back at Hamilton as it hits its 10th anniversary, describes how the musical haunts her to this day, and reveals whether she would ever return to the show.
Why was this the right time for your debut album?
I’ve had some wonderful success in the theater and in television, which crossed into the world of pop and R&B music, genre-defying, age-defying pop-rap. In Covid, everyone was home, Hamilton had a big movie premiere. I have this blessing of a platform. There are a group of people that care about what I sing. It was the right time to do what I love very much, for people that have shown me so much love.
How did you come up with the title Who I Really Am?
I was visiting my father in church in Michigan. The pastor got up to introduce a special guest they had there. I turned around like, “Who? I wonder who it is,” as he was reading my entire biography. He said my name, I was shocked. How did I not recognize myself? I realized it’s because it had excluded every challenge I’d been through. I had had a couple of really emotionally painful miscarriages that were quite public, and somehow, this introduction of me, just excluded that, because that’s what you do.
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I thought, “Wow, what a disservice we do to each other when we reduce our identity to shows and awards.” This song is two sides of the coin. If you flip the coin, that’s where the loss is, where the mistakes are, where the pain is. And it became the name of the album.
Do you remember when you first wrote your very first song?
I was in high school, fell in love with a beautiful boy. He graduated, went to Dartmouth, and left me for my senior year. I walked around the campus of Cranbrook in Michigan so sad, so heartbroken, so abandoned, left with all of these 17-year-old emotions. The song is called, brace yourself, “Left Alone.”
I hope you do a 2026 remake of “Left Alone.”
There’s a song called “Love Returned,” about my most soap opera, dramatic, ridiculously kind of crazy running through the rain, heartbreak, night in college. Yes, I’m every cliché.
Is there a special backstory to any of the songs?
“Twinkle” is written for my daughter. I have songs that require the support of powerful women, the power of sisterhood. It’s every nursery rhyme, but reclaimed specifically for my Black daughter. I wrote “You Can Do Anything,” for my son, especially the line, “If you knew that you would win, how would you play?” Without the idea that you might lose, you’ll do it differently.
Were there any other album titles you considered?
“Friendly fire,” is in the song “I Met Someone.” It’s about breaking someone’s heart. I had to tell the person I was seeing, “I met someone.” I met my husband. Finding the strength to say those three words and being the villain in the story. Sometimes it’s the best thing you can be in someone’s life, because it frees them to have a person that actually loves them in the way they deserve.
Is this album your villain origin story?
Possible! After I wrote that song with Paul Duncan, Sara Bareilles, my very good friend slash “Grammy Award-winning superstar.” She actually might be the best singer/songwriter ever. I told her, “I’m doing my own album.” She said, “Oh, I have a song, I think you’d sing it great,” and she just gave it to me. “Don’t Want to Love You,” is the perspective of the person who was hurt.
I was a stalker fan first. I first met her backstage at Hamilton. When I got the offer to be in Tina Fey and Meredith Scardino’s Girls5Eva, Sara was the only person attached. I thought, “Ooh, if I do the show, I’ll be friends with Sara Bareilles.”
Who were some of your musical inspirations for this album?
My favorite voice in the whole wide world: Sarah Vaughan. She never wanted to be called a jazz singer. She considered herself just a singer, which also fits very well for me. It’s a challenge for me to find one genre that defines me. As a theater singer, we sing everything. I’m in love with the sound of Luther Vandross and James Taylor’s voices. Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Eva Cassidy, and Joni Mitchell. Joni! Both Sides Now!
Hamilton’s about to hit 10 years. Let’s go back in time. We had dinner after your Hamilton audition and you said, “I don’t know, I think this could be big. The music is so good.” Turns out, you were right.
I turned the audition down several times. It was for the workshop. I’m not an idiot. I was a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda from In the Heights. I knew the genius. I just didn’t think that they would cast me for the show. I didn’t see myself as a Nicki Minaj type. I didn’t recognize myself that way. And most importantly, I had just brought my daughter home. My son was here. My family was complete, and it was hard to get. Then, I got this email, “Would you come audition for this Hamilton mixtape?” I thought, “They’re never gonna give me that job.” So, no.
How many times did you turn it down?
Two or three times. The producers said, “We love her. We just need to know if she can rap. Can she just listen to the song?” I listened. I thought, “Fuck.” I had only one night to learn it. I was going to be in a room with my heroes, Tommy Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, and Jeffrey Seller. And I can’t even understand what he’s saying on this demo I get. I’m like, “What? What is he even saying?” I auditioned. They gave me the job.
You played hard to get with Hamilton.
I mean I said, “Yes,” right away!
You do a remake of Satisfied on this album. Did you get the Lin stamp of approval?
Lin kicked off his series to showcase Hamilton cast members’ work at his theater in Washington Heights, with my documentary, Satisfied. He asked me to sing. I said, “Well, this is a perfect time for me to let you know that I have this song. Not to replace the irreplaceable! But I’m always singing it by myself!” He replied, “You have never once asked me to sing with you!” I sent it. He listened and wrote back, “I love it, let’s do it together!” Phillipa Soo sang with us. I said, “I want to release it as a single.” And he said, “I’m honored.”
Who came to see you in Hamilton that excited you the most?
The people that didn’t come is the shorter list. I got to do the show for Prince, Beyoncé, Barack and Michelle Obama. One night, I saw a letter from James Taylor saying, “Thank you. I had a wonderful time at the show.” I started hyperventilating, “James Taylor was here?!” My best performances are always when I don’t know that anyone is there. I didn’t want to be thinking the whole time, “Oh my God, Beyoncé!” It was scary every single night.
What did you learn from working with Lin?
Lin and I are opposites. We’re both perfectionists. Most perfectionists think they’re never good enough. Lin has this wonderful combination of being a perfectionist, but also, he’s very “Show and Tell.” He doesn’t have to be done. He’ll never stop working. The first time he performed Hamilton at the White House, he did Alexander Hamilton, a rap that no one’s ever heard. He’s a perfectionist that’s never afraid to show his work. It’s a genius combination.
What was it like working with Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa, and Jonathan Groff?
In my documentary and social media, you’ll see me with every person you just mentioned, except Jonathan Groff. There’s a reason why. It’s all inappropriate. I can’t put it anywhere. He’s fine with it. He doesn’t care. I can’t release the Jonathan Groff footage. One of the greatest gifts, even 10 years later, is this whole family and watching the world discover them.
If Hamilton came out today, do you think it would be received differently?
Absolutely, it would be. Not quite sure how. Would it have more potential to heal because the divide feels so great? What’s beautiful about Hamilton because of the rap battles, both sides claimed Hamilton. Hopefully, it would be a bridge. That’s definitely what we need. It was born in the Obama era. We thought that era was forever. Eight year olds come up to me all the time, knowing the material better than I do, and they were not alive when it came out.
Would you ever go back to Hamilton?
I’ve never thought of it ever as an option. It’s also my recurring nightmare. I have dreams I’m in costume. It’s almost time for me to go, “Angelica!” I can’t remember any of it. They start calling old Nalas for The Lion King. I’m on stage. There’s no rehearsal, they assume I know it. I do not.
When I heard Leslie was going back to the show, I was shocked. But what a gift to all of us. If there was a reason that it would be a win for everybody again, sure I’d do it. The hardest thing about doing the show is singing, “Satisfied.” I used to say, kind of metaphorically [pretends to smoke a cigarette] after the show, “I’m going to write an autobiography, and it’s going to be called After Satisfied,” because I was so stressed out until after that song. So, I could do it, I would do it, but they don’t need me!
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You’ve created a soundtrack to people’s lives from joy to heartbreak to Hamilton to love and all the messy, beautiful stuff in between. Your album’s called, “Who I Really Am?” So, who are you, really?
Oof, that’s hard. I’m an actor, I’m a singer, I’m a storyteller, I’m a mother, I’m a wife, I’m a friend, I’m a sister, I’m a daughter —
A villain…
I’m a villain. Who am I? Me. I wrote a whole ass song about it, it’s track one.
