Reprising her role as Joanne in Rent next month at the Hollywood Bowl is our next featured co-star, Tracie Thoms.

A native of Baltimore, Tracie made her Broadway debut in 2004 in Drowning Crow, alongside Alfre Woodard and Anthony Mackie. A huge fan of Rent, she auditioned several times for the musical, and at one point was unable follow through on a callback because she had lost her voice. It was during this time that she attended, and received a post-graduate degree from, The Juilliard School. Of the silver lining to this experience, she has said, “Thank God I lost my voice. If I had done Rent, I would have destroyed my voice. Juilliard taught me what to do with it.”

The first time Tracie played the role of Joanne was in the 2005 film version of Rent, joining Rosario Dawson as one of only two cast members who weren’t a part of the original Broadway company. Tracie finally made her dream come true when she joined the Broadway cast in 2008 during Rent’s final run at the Nederlander Theatre.

Tracie’s other movie roles include The Devil Wears Prada (2006), a role she laughingly describes as being her, with “no acting involved,” and the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double bill Grindhouse and Death Proof (2007). She was also featured in Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair, which won the jury prize at Sundance in 2009. On preparing to interview Tracie as part of the doc after seeing her in Grindhouse, Rock is quoted as saying that he “was excited to meet a woman who had managed ‘to play Sam Jackson in a Quentin Tarantino movie.’”

Tracie has also appeared on television, with guest appearances on shows like Law and Order and Private Practice. She joined Cold Case‘s regular cast in 2005, playing Detective Kat Miller.

Tracie has said that she’s been lucky with her Maureens, and we can’t wait to see her opposite her newest Maureen, Nicole Scherzinger, along with Vanessa and the whole company of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, August 6-8.