Jenna Ushkowitz
Character Bio
Tina Cohen-Chang auditions for Spanish teacher Will Schuester's new glee club with a brash rendition of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl." Offstage, though, Tina is timid and insecure. Her interests include speed-metal, emo-core, cutting off her dolls' hair, and hangin' with her speech therapist, Judy. Using her stutter as an excuse, Tina withdraws from people, preferring to stay in the background.
Tina and teammate Artie Abrams develop a relationship, and, during a date, Tina kisses Artie and tells him how impressed she is with him. Then she reveals a secret: her own disability -- her stutter -- isn't real. As a shy child she faked having a stutter to get out of an oral report, and then stuck with it when she realized she could use it to keep people at arms' length.
Tina tells Artie that her positive experiences with glee have shown her how much she's been missing and she doesn't want to push people away anymore.
Actor Bio
A seasoned theater actor, Jenna Ushkowitz starred in "The King and I" and recently finished her run in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of "Spring Awakening."
Her television credits include "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow" and "As the World Turns," and her independent film credits include "Babyface" and "Educated." Recently, Ushkowitz hosted "Yankees on Deck," which is a behind-the-scenes sports show geared towards young audiences.
Ushkowitz, 22, graduated from Marymount Manhattan College and lives in New York City.
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