The Untold Truth Of Leslie Grace
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"In The Heights" actor Leslie Grace has been steadily finding her way in the Hollywood entertainment industry, and making a name for herself as a crossover artist for years. Since launching a successful career as a Latin music artist in 2012, Grace has had hit after hit. Her natural charisma and beautiful voice eventually earned her a leading role in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit Broadway musical "In The Heights," which premiered in June 2021.
The role of Nina Rosario may have been her first acting gig, but the talented Bronx-born performer's acting chops in the high-profile film have already garnered her a ton of attention, and opened doors for her in the film world. At the moment, it looks like the relative newcomer may go on to enjoy an illustrious career in Hollywood, like so many other triple threats before her.
"I plan on continuing to pursue all the ways I know how to express what I have within that I think may be worth sharing, and learn new ways to share what I've yet to express!," Grace told ET. "So excited about what is yet to come!" she exclaimed. And we are too. That's why we want to take a deep dive into how Leslie Grace got where she is today, and what life's been like for her since her breakout role in "In The Heights."
'Music was at the center' of her home
Leslie Grace was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 7, 1995, as Leslie Grace Martinez. As she shared with Elite Daily, she lived in New York until she was 10 years old, when her family moved to Florida. Her parents, Francisco Martinez and Elba Guana, both immigrated from the Dominican Republic, and her mom is a small business owner (more on that in a bit). It's clear that Grace is very close to both of her parents, whom she says have always supported her entertainment ambitions, which formed early on.
"I knew from a super-young age I loved the feeling of performing," Grace told ET. "It was always something that brought my family together in my household and we all enjoyed doing a bit of whether it was through dance, karaoke songs or storytelling! Growing up in a Dominican household in New York, music was at the center of all of our moments, so it wasn't long before I began putting on little shows in my 'sala' (living room) at around age six."
Leslie Grace is Dominican and bilingual
Leslie Grace identifies as Afro-Latina, and is one of the only American actors featured in a lead role in a major motion picture to do so. "I was raised in New York until I was 10 and then we moved to Florida. And my big curly hair and being Afro-Latina was kind of a shock that I didn't realize would be for some people, once I moved to a place where there weren't a lot people that look like me," she said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
Although Grace says her Spanish isn't "perfect," she is bilingual. "When I'd come home from school and tell them about my day in English, my mom would ignore me until I spoke to her in Spanish. She knew our house was the only place I'd be able to practice and preserve our language, and she took this responsibility seriously," Grace explained to Elite Daily.
Still she's struggled with her confidence speaking in Spanish, and says she's spent lots of time practicing with her father. "Even now when I travel to the Dominican Republic, I feel insecure that interviewers will listen to me speak and think I'm not Latina enough; as if I want to promote my music and sing in our language but I can't even express myself fully. Feeling that energy from people makes my Spanish even worse," she said.
Leslie Grace started as a Christian music artist
Leslie Grace knew she wanted to be an entertainer from the time she was a little girl. She grew up singing in the church choir, and when she was just 14 years old and still in middle school, she independently recorded a Christian pop music album titled "Pasión," which was released in 2009. The record was performed mostly in Spanish, and with lots of catchy mid-tempo tracks, it seemed geared toward the teeny-bopper set. "At that point in my life, if there was any opportunity that would allow me to sing and allow me to record myself singing, I was down," Grace told Grazia magazine.
"Anytime we had a party at our house, my mom would help me put together mini shows — a list of songs to perform on karaoke, including outfit changes — to let me know I was supported. There was never a moment where I thought, 'I want to do this for a living,' but no other routes ever felt as right," Grace recalled to Elite Daily.
According to Billboard, that nine-track album was passed on to Latin music producer Sergio George by a family friend. "It took me like a month to listen to it, and when I finally did, I signed her," George told Billboard.
Her music career continued to blossom
After signing Leslie Grace, Sergio George, who had worked with acts like Prince Royce, decided she was a great fit for the Dominican music style bachata, and Grace agreed. "I felt like I had an opportunity to fuse both of my backgrounds together by singing bachata," Grace told Elite Daily. "I knew it would be challenging to start my career in a male-dominated genre and represent for women everywhere, but I felt like young girls needed someone they could identify with."
In 2012, Grace found success in the music industry with her debut single "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," a remake of The Shirelles song from the 1960s. Her rendition of the tune was a hit on the Billboard Tropical Songs and Billboard Latin Airplay charts, and she has since earned herself multiple Latin Grammy nominations and collaborated with major artists including rapper Meek Mill and Latin pop singer Becky G.
In the fall of 2021, Grace released "Bachatica," her first solo single in five years. "As I continue to discover new things that excite and inspire me in different ways, I continue to funnel that inspiration into my music," she told Billboard. "'Bachatica' is very special to me because it's been a while since I've released a song as a soloist, and it felt right that it would be this one."
Leslie Grace was once on a reality show
In 2016, already considered a major star in the world of Latin music, Leslie Grace was tapped to participate in the Univision reality singing competition series "Va Por Ti." She served as a team captain on the show, acting as mentor to a group of competitors with musical ambitions. "I had the blessing of meeting so many gifted contestants as a coach during 'Va Por Ti,' and it definitely made me think of the possibility of assisting in the development phase of artists in the future," Grace told ET. "It was invigorating for me [and] spoke to all of the things that light me up as a person when it comes to collaborating! Love my #teamgrace!"
That season, Grace's team competed against teams led by fellow recording artists Luis Coronel and Chiquis Rivera. Not only that, but Grace had the least amount of eliminated contestants at the end of the competition, which made her the winning coach. While the competition aspect was surely fun and all, at the end of the day, the goal was to help hopeful artists get their foot in the door. "What we can do is show them all we have learned in these few years we have in the industry," she said in Billboard, noting that she and the other mentors "can actually help and prepare them to take full advantage of this opportunity."
Making her mark on Hollywood
Despite her immense talent, it has taken Leslie Grace most of her nearly decade-long career to finally break into movies. "I had been auditioning for maybe three years — I kept this little dream to myself, like a little secret, that I really wanted to act. And I thought that my first role would be a guest role as a music artist on some show, since I was just getting started," Grace told the AP.
Her lead role as Nina Rosario in 2021's "In The Heights" proved to be a breakout moment for her. It wasn't easy getting there though — Grace had to audition for the film twice. She was cast in 2016 when the film was still under Weinstein Co., then it was auctioned off to Warner Bros., who made her try out all over again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director John Chu noticed a big change between the two auditions. "She came in and something changed in her. She had this depth, this gravitas, that I hadn't seen before. She was Nina," Chu said.
"But the beautiful part was that I was enveloped and just surrounded by an immense amount of generosity and knowledge. And I knew that this was gonna be, at the very least, such a beautiful school to just sit and go to set when I wasn't needed and see people be brilliant. I soaked it up, every ounce of [it]," Grace told ET.
In The Heights hit home for Leslie Grace
Leslie Grace was able to draw from her own experiences for her role in the Lin-Manuel Miranda film adaptation of the Tony award-winning musical "In The Heights." The film takes place in the Washington Heights section of the Bronx, which is where Grace is originally from. Not only that, but one of the central locations of the film is a neighborhood hair salon, and Grace's own mother actually owned hair salons most of Grace's life. As the actor told Billboard, her first job was helping her mom out in the salon.
"The crazy thing is, this is the place where my parents' stories are lived," Grace said to the AP. "My mom's first salon business was a couple blocks away from where we were shooting. ... I get to be a part of a story that's cherishing my mom's story and my mom gets to witness it by coming to visit her little girl on set while she's living her own wildest dreams."
But it also goes a lot deeper than just the similarities between the "In The Heights" star and the character she played. For Grace, it was also about representation. "I pray it makes all those little boys and girls and grown men and women that have yet to see themselves onscreen in a feature film feel absolutely seen and celebrated in their fullness," Grace told ET.
Leslie Grace has spread her batwings
Not long after Leslie Grace established herself as an actor in "In The Heights," outlets like Deadline reported that she was cast as Barbara Gordon a.k.a., "Batgirl," in an upcoming film that will be produced by Warner Bros and DC Films. The new movie will premiere exclusively on HBO Max in 2022, and will also star J.K. Simmons and Jacob Scipio.
"It was insane. It was beautiful. It's a blessing. I'm so excited about the character. I'm excited to nerd out with all of the comics. I've already been doing so much research on it and I'm excited to learn how to kick some butt, too, because your girl, she's going to have to get rough and tough to be Miss Barbara Gordon. So, I cannot wait," Grace told ET about how she felt when she found out she got the role.
Unfortunately, there's been some racially motivated backlash surrounding the casting of Grace as Barbara Gordon. The character has long been depicted in the DC comic books as white with red hair, and some fans were upset that an Afro-Latina was selected for the role. As The Root noted, some flocked to social media platforms to accuse DC and Warner Bros. of racial pandering. Grace has not responded publicly to the negative comments.
She held off on moving out
As previously mentioned, Leslie Grace is very close to her parents. So close, in fact, she didn't leave the nest until she was in her mid-twenties — even though she was already independently successful and financially stable, thanks to her music career. In 2018, she confessed to Billboard that not many people knew that she still lived with her parents at that time.
As Refinery29 noted, during the global pandemic, she packed up and moved out of the Florida home where she still resided with her big, blended family and got her own place in Los Angeles. At the time of writing, the "In The Heights" star lives with her boyfriend, Ian Eastwood, thousands of miles away from her family home, but centrally located for her budding movie career.
Some outlets, such as the AP, have compared Grace's big move to her character Nina's in that she too has flown the coop to pursue her own dreams. Grace is clearly positioning herself professionally and geographically to take on Hollywood for the long run, and based on what she's accomplished in just a few short years, her move was likely a good decision.
What's Leslie Grace's relationship status?
While filming "In The Heights," Leslie Grace connected with choreographer Ian Eastwood, and they quickly hit it off. "When Ian and I met, it was at the perfect moment in each other's lives," she told People en Español. "I was filming 'In the Heights' and he was in New York as well for a dance convention. We were both very focused on ourselves. Moms always tell you: 'Your love will come when you least expect it, don't look for it,' and that's how it was. We hit it off as friends immediately. We got to know each other and really clicked. It's wonderful, especially during this time, to have somebody who understands you and is there for you," she said.
The two have been together since 2019, and seem to be in it for the long haul. Grace and her beau work together often, collaborating on music videos, including on the video for her song "Bachatica."
"We have a genuine love as individual people for each other," she said to Refinery29, and while the couple isn't rushing to the altar, Grace did confess to People en Español that she hopes to have children one day. "We have some time where we want to enjoy pursuing things in our careers and things in our own personal lives," Grace told Refinery29. "A lot of my family members are like, 'You'll feel it when it's time. So you don't have to rush that.'" she said.
Leslie Grace has reached millionaire status
When we said that Leslie Grace is financially stable, we weren't kidding. The recording artist and up-and-coming actor is reportedly worth roughly $5 million, according to Idol Net Worth.
Clearly, her music career has been quite good to her pocketbook so far. As for her move into movies? Well, that could have a huge impact on Grace's net worth — and she knows it. "This was a moment of fulfillment for me, where I felt I could finally give them something back. We're the fruits of the seed of struggle, sacrifice, and the hard work of our ancestors. We are the first fruits from that seed and in the eyes of those before us, we are that dream. That's very powerful," Grace said to EW.
"When you're a well-known artist that has achieved a level of success, the struggle never stops," Grace said. "Especially when you have a family, like me and Nina ['In The Heights'], you're trying to pave a new path for yourself and for everybody else while fighting for your dreams." And rather than be content with her incredible achievements, she will continue to forge ahead on that path. "I cannot squander what I've been given so I have to keep going until I can't anymore," she said. "That's what I saw my mom, my dad, and my grandma do."
Leslie Grace realizes the weight of her success
Leslie Grace is very aware of the impact of her success, not just for her and her family, but also for the many Latino and Afro-Latino people who see her as a representative or even a role model, and she's grateful she's been able to keep growing, learning, and branching out as a performer.
"It got to the point that I wasn't having fun making music anymore. This movie saved my creativity. I knew that by having the opportunity to be part of this incredible story and this family of brilliant people that my life was going to change, and it has," she said in EW of "In the Heights."
"I know there are a lot of people that feel that way and don't end up having that life path that I did. I just feel privileged and blessed and want to pay it forward as much as I can, making people feel things with what I attach myself to, and also, just paying it back to my family. Really, without their support I wouldn't be able to be doing this at all. For real," Grace told Grazia magazine, humbly recognizing that her achievements and what she chooses to do with them, go far beyond herself.