American actor Andrew Rannells was BOTD in 1978. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he developed an early interest in theatre, moving to New York in 1997 to study drama at Marymount Manhattan College. He made his Broadway debut in 2005, as an understudy in a revival of the musical Hair, followed by a longer run in The Jersey Boys. He rose to fame playing perky missionary Elder Price in the 2011 Broadway premiere of The Book of Mormon, earning his first Tony nomination. After leaving the show, he starred in TV dramedy series The New Normal, playing one half of a gay couple raising a child with their female friend. He was also well-cast as a shrill, self-obsessed fag bangle in Lena Dunham’s hit cable TV series Girls. In 2015, he replaced Neil Patrick Harris as the lead in the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a role originally played by the show’s co-writer John Cameron Mitchell. He earned his second Tony nomination for the 2016 revival of the musical Falsettos. In 2018, he appeared in the 2018 Broadway revival of Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band, directed by Joe Mantello and with an all-gay cast including Zachary Quinto, Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer. Rannells reprised his role for the 2020 TV film. His other TV work includes the series Bigmouth, Black Monday and Invincible and the musical film The Prom. In 2022, he made his West End debut as evangelist Jim Bakker in the musical Tammy Faye, written by Elton John and Jake Shears, earning him an Olivier Award nomination. He has published two memoirs, Too Much is Not Enough and Uncle of the Year. Openly gay since forever, he is in a relationship with his Boys in the Band co-star Tuc Watkins.