Nikki Blonsky

Those involved in the casting for Hairspray have acknowledged that she was not the best singer and dancer to audition for the lead role of Tracy. Still, the casting crew really admired Nikki's spirit and self-confidence, specifically while she was dancing. Nikki herself has often said that she was never afraid to "shake what my mama gave me". This is one of the big reasons why she landed the part.

In 2008, Nikki admitted that she dreamed of working with Adam Sandler someday.

Nikki's first Lifetime movie is Queen Sized.

Nikki has joked that when her parents used to mention the importance of college to her, Nikki would say that she wanted to attend the University of Hairspray. This was, of course, before she landed the role in the movie, and playing Tracy was her lifelong dream.

Her astrological sign is Scorpio.

Nikki says that her very favorite performance in the film Hairspray belonged to Allison Janney, who played Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes)'s wacky, over-the-top-religious mother. "She is so talented," says Nikki.

Many of Nikki's Hairspray co-stars, including Zac Efron and John Travolta, have raved that although Nikki had absolutely no Hollywood experience before landing her role in the movie, she had a remarkable amount of poise and courage in the limelight. "This is a girl who's been waiting her entire life for this," Efron said, and Travolta once joked that it was almost as if Nikki was stepping back into Hollywood after being a famous star in a previous life--that was how hard it was to believe that she was brand-new to the business.

Nikki has fond memories of the school scenes in her 2007 film Hairspray, because Nikki herself had a rough time in school (she says she was teased a lot about her weight), but being on the set and in the Hairspray school helped her feel like she finally found a place that she truly belonged, with the co-stars who became her friends.

In the DVD audio commentary for Hairspray, Nikki revealed that her younger brother Joey's favorite part of the movie takes place at the beginning, when Nikki's character Tracy jumps in front of the truck and waves her arms wildly for it to stop and give her a ride. Nikki says that Joey loves to pinch her self-described "chubby arms," so he got a kick out of watching her wave them in the air in this scene.

In a 2007 issue of People Magazine, Nikki credited the three Santa Clause movies (starring Tim Allen) as her favorite holiday films. She says she watches them every year to get into the Christmas spirit.

Nikki said in an interview on Shootout, in July 2007, that her favorite film of all time is Mary Poppins.

On June 7, 2006 at 10:30pm, Nikki's "life changed forever" - that was when she learned that she got the part in Hairspray. The producers of the film videotaped the moment when she found out via a message on a computer.

Nikki lists Hairspray co-star Queen Latifah as one of her idols.

Nikki says that she wanted to play Tracy Turnblad when she saw Hairspray on Broadway on her 15th birthday.

After seeing Hairspray on Broadway, a year later Nikki auditioned for the production but was turned down because she was too young.

Nikki has a little brother named Joey.

Nikki's mother is Catholic and her father is Jewish. Nikki was raised in her mother's faith.

Nikki attended the Hairspray premiere in New York City.

Nikki says her Hairspray character Tracy, is very similar to her. One of the film producers agreed, saying that it was one of the very rare cases where "the actor and the character seem to be one."

Hairspray is Nikki's first starring role in a feature film.

Nikki was always a talented and willing singer, but she didn't become truly serious about it until she saw the Broadway version of Hairspray at the age of 15. "It was like, Cha-Ching! I'm gonna do this, or I'm gonna die," Nikki recalls of the experience.

When Nikki landed a role in 2007's Hairspray, film director Adam Shankman told her the good news as she was working a shift at Coldstone Creamery. "I couldn't pick myself off the floor. I had no idea what hit me!" Nikki has said about the moment she found out.

Nikki's mother Karen is an elementary school teacher aide, and her father Carl works in water pollution control.

John Travolta, Nikki's co-star in Hairspray, has compared Nikki to Barbara Streisand and Liza Minnelli. "She's awesome," Travolta has raved.

Nikki has indicated that she has a great relationship with actor Zac Efron, one of her co-stars in Hairspray. Both stars have sung each other's praises in previous interviews; Zac says that Nikki has more poise than he ever did when she walked across the red carpet for the first time, and Nikki says that Zac is a genuinely sweet guy who deserves every fan he has.

Cold Stone Creamery--the place that Nikki worked at a year before landing her role in the 2007 film Hairspray--recently introduced a new flavor in Nikki's honor. It is called Color Me Cotton Candy.

Nikki attended the 2006 MTV Movie Awards.

The first song she ever sang was Stop! In The Name of Love by The Supremes.

Nikki attended Great Neck's South Senior High School in New York.

Nikki has been singing since the age of three and had voice lessons since the age of eight.

In high school her credits include Madame Thernardier in Les Misérables, Mrs. Lovette in Sweeney Todd, Lilli Venessi/Katerine in Kiss Me, Kate, and Carmen in Carmen.

Nikki says winning the role in Hairspray was "a dream come true."

Nikki's favorite Hairspray song to sing is "Good Morning Baltimore."

While filming Hairspray, Nikki says she missed her 2-year-old pug Rocky the most.

A year before winning the role of Tracy Turnbald in the 2007 movie, Hairspray, Nikki worked as an ice cream scooper at Cold Stone Creamery.

As of 2007, Nikki is 4 feet, 10 inches.