Chris Colfer

**Christopher Paul Colfer** (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author.

## Biography

He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical *Glee* (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received critical praise for which he has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, three consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor in from 2013 to 2015, two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations and one Grammy Award nomination. In April 2011, Colfer was named one of the Time 100, *Time*'s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Colfer wrote, starred in, produced, and novelized his first film, *Struck by Lightning*, which debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. He also wrote *The New York Times* bestselling *The Land of Stories* series of YA books, starting with *The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell*. As of September 2021, he has published eighteen books.

Colfer was born in Clovis, California, to Karyn and Timothy Colfer. He is of Irish ancestry and has stated: "I'm very Irish, my family is all Irish and Saint Patrick’s Day in my house is crazy." As a child, he was confined to a hospital bed for three months following a lymph node surgery, which left a scar on his neck and which he credits as one of the difficult experiences that made him interested in fictional worlds.

When Colfer was seven, his younger sister was diagnosed with severe epilepsy; he said, "She'd have these horrid, horrid epileptic fits in the middle of the night." He "craved attention" from his parents, but it was diverted to his sister's health. He knew he wanted to be an actor, but as a coping mechanism he retreated into his imagination and began writing fairy tales.

At an early age, Colfer showed a passion for writing. He was "born wanting to be a storyteller", using both writing and acting as ways to entertain people and escape reality. His grandmother was his first editor, advising and encouraging him in elementary school when he first attempted to write a fairytale-inspired novel, which would later become *The Land of Stories*. In 2012, Colfer dedicated his first published novel to her, and quoted her: "Christopher, I think you should wait until you're done with elementary school before worrying about being a failed writer."

Colfer was bullied so severely in middle school that he needed to be homeschooled for half of 7th grade and 8th grade. When he attended Clovis East High School, he was involved with the speech and debate program, and he won "champion titles", including placing ninth in the State Competition for Dramatic Interpretation. He was also active in the drama club, the FFA, "was president of the Writer's Club, editor of the school's literary magazine, and captain of Destination ImagiNation". As a high school senior, he wrote, starred in, and directed a spoof of *Sweeney Todd* entitled "Shirley Todd", in which all of the roles were gender-reversed. One of his real in-school experiences was later turned into a subplot for his character on *Glee*, when the high school teachers denied him the chance to sing "Defying Gravity" from the musical *Wicked* because it is traditionally sung by a woman.

## Coaching

Chris Colfer was a fantasy voice coach on Season 41.

He was portrayed by Abby