Throughout her “Hamilton” experience, actor and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry was shooting videos on her phone: on the train to her audition, in rehearsals, getting hair and makeup backstage, and having fun with the cast. Now, those previously unseen videos are enjoying a new life in her documentary “Satisfied,” available on demand starting November 4.
In it, the Tony Award-winning actress, best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in “Hamilton,” offers an intimate look at all that was happening in her life in the eye of the hurricane. For every video of Goldsberry interacting with luminaries like Beyoncé and The Obamas backstage, there’s another one with her young children at home wishing their working mom a goodnight.
When asked if she ever wanted to be in one place versus the other, her answer is telling: “I didn’t want to have to choose…what do I want? Everything… both at the same time.”
The Journey to Motherhood & A Demo Tape That Changed Her Life
Like many women, Goldsberry faced fertility struggles. Her son Benjamin arrived after several miscarriages, and her daughter Brielle joined the family via adoption from Ethiopia. “When Brielle came home, I was like, this is it. This is the picture over the fireplace. I’m done,” she recalls.
It was precisely at this time of family bliss that she got the call for an audition for a project known at that time as “The Hamilton Mixtape.” She turned it down a few times, wanting to enjoy this moment with the family she had for long hoped and prayed would become a reality. Finally, her agent pleaded with her to just listen to the demo tape. It was Lin-Manuel Miranda singing the Angelica Schulyer song “Satisfied.” Goldsberry remembers it clearly. “I felt just the world shake, the ground shook…. everything was going be different.”
Renée Elise Goldsberry On Being In the Middle of It & Making It Work
It’s the dream of so many young actors to star in a Broadway musical that not only becomes a hit, but a pop culture phenomenon. And Renée Elise Goldsberry was right in the middle of it. But it required sacrifice. She was the only mom in the cast, and despite her late nights, she always woke up early to be with her kids. “The only time I really got with my kids is first thing in the morning,” Goldsberry shares. “Kids want to be tucked in, and I missed a lot of tuck-ins.”
Key to making this new reality work was husband Alexis Johnson. When she first met him, her career trajectory was uncertain. She recalls telling him, “You could either be supporting me for the rest of your life. Literally, every day you come home from work, I’m sitting in the same place on the couch… talking about I’m writing a song in my head. Or, you could be Mr. Goldsberry holding my purse on the red carpet.”
“I knew that I needed to marry someone who could do either extreme, and I knew that he was that, and that’s why I was like, ‘I do’.”
Measuring Success and Feeling Satisfied
Today, Goldsberry is still enjoying the amazing success of “Hamilton,” which recently marked its 10th anniversary. The celebrations included the long-awaited theatrical release of the Broadway live-capture film (after an initial release on Disney+, during the pandemic).
Since leaving “Hamilton” in 2016, Goldsberry’s talent has landed her a diverse array of projects. They include one of the leads in the comedy series “Girls5Eva,” now available on Peacock, and most recently, a role as the first lady in Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow’s new drama “A House of Dynamite,” coming to Netflix.
Her biggest passion project yet is her new album “Who I Really Am,” featuring 11 tracks written by Goldsberry as well as a special re-record of the hit “Satisfied.” And now that it’s out in the world, she has some big dreams for it.
“I would love one of my songs… to just burn up the charts,” she shares. “I would love somebody to pick it up in some way that it really kind of resonates.”
Despite all her success, Goldsberry still considers herself fortunate to be a working actor and singer. “That’s a miracle, right? I don’t have an extravagance. I think it’s extravagant to be able to make a living doing the thing that is my heart’s desire.”
