Amy Powers is an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 and Annie Award

Annie Award

The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...

 nominated lyricist, songwriter and producer who creates songs for film, television, theater, animation, pop and country artists, theme parks and children’s brands. Her work has been featured in Oscar and Tony

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 winning productions and recorded by #1-selling and multi-platinum artists worldwide as well as on Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

's hit TV series, Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

.

Early life

Amy Powers was born on March 29, 1961, in Bethpage, Long Island

Bethpage, New York

Bethpage is a hamlet located on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States, as well as a census-designated place with borders slightly different from those of the hamlet...

 and grew up in Seaford

Seaford, New York

Seaford is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Seaford is located at ....

 and Merrick, New York

Merrick, New York

Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 22,097. The name "Merrick" is taken from Meroke, the name of the Algonquian tribe formerly indigenous to the area...

. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa Society

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...

 from Vassar College

Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...

 with a B.A. in Cognitive Science, was awarded a full fellowship to Columbia University, where she received her M.B.A. in 1984, and went on to complete her J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 at Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

 in 1987. After law school, Powers took a job in the Real Estate Finance department at White & Case

White & Case

White & Case was founded in New York in 1901 and has grown into one of the world's leading global law firms. The firm has since expanded, and has practice groups in emerging markets including Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in Europe...

 in New York, where she remained for 2 1/2 years.

Musical theater

Powers' musical training began in 1988 when she was accepted to the prestigious BMI Musical Theater Workshop

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a workshop in New York for musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists.-History:The BMI Workshop was founded in 1961 by Lehman Engel and the performing rights organization BMI ....

 in New York. Her first project was The Game, a musical version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, performed at NYU

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

, in 1989, directed by Frank Ventura. In 1991, Powers collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

 and Don Black on songs for the Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 winning musical Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard (musical)

Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...

, including "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and "With One Look." She went on to co-write Cinderella: A Musical with composer Dan Levy for Riverside Shakespeare Company

Riverside Shakespeare Company

The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...

 at Playhouse 91 in New York, and then Lizzie Borden with composer Christopher McGovern in 2001, starring Christiane Noll

Christiane Noll

Christiane Noll is an American singer and actress known for her work in musicals and on the concert stage. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Emma Carew in Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde, as well as her roles in Urinetown and City of Angels.-Life and career:Noll was born in New...

 which played at the Goodspeed Opera House. In 2003, The Game was produced at Barrington Stage Company

Barrington Stage Company

Barrington Stage Company is a regional theatre company in The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director, Julianne Boyd, and Managing Director, Susan Sperber, in Sheffield, Massachusetts...

, starring Sara Ramirez

Sara Ramírez

Sara Ramírez is a Mexican-American singer/songwriter and actress. She is known for her role as Callie Torres in Grey's Anatomy and as the original Lady of the Lake in the 2005 Broadway musical Spamalot, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.-Early life:Ramírez...

. An encore production of The Game will take place at Barrington Stage Company in August 2011. Her next musical, Zhivago, based on the 20th century novel Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago

-Original creation:*Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, published in 1957**Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, a fictional character and the main protagonist of the book Doctor Zhivago-Adaptations:There are several adaptations based on the Doctor Zhivago book:...

, by Boris Pasternak

Boris Pasternak

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...

, played at the La Jolla Playhouse

La Jolla Playhouse

La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...

, in CA in 2006. It was revised and premiered as Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago (musical)

Doctor Zhivago is a 2011 musical composed by Lucy Simon, lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers, book by Michael Weller; it is based on Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago....

 at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney

Lyric Theatre, Sydney

Lyric Theatre, Sydney, Australia, is part of The Star Casino. It plays host to large scale musicals, theatre productions, opera and ballet.The Lyric Theatre was home to the world premier of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical....

 in February 2011, starring Anthony Warlow

Anthony Warlow

Anthony Warlow is an Australian opera and musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range ....

 to critical acclaim.

Recording artists

Powers's songs have been recorded by such artists as Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...

, Alabama

Alabama (band)

Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...

, Bryan McKnight

Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....

, Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...

, Patti Lupone, Tina Arena, Avalon, RBD

RBD

RBD was a two-time Latin-Grammy nominated Mexican pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's teen drama series Rebelde. RBD sold over 17 million digital downloads and over 20 million albums worldwide in four years since their formation, according to EMI...

, Sara Paxton

Sara Paxton

Sara Paxton is an American actress, model and singer. She grew up in California and began acting at an early age, appearing in many minor roles in both films and television shows, before coming to wider renown in 2004, after playing the title role in the series Darcy's Wild Life and Sarah Borden...

, and Katherine McPhee.

Film and television

Power's first song for Film was the title track for the Oscar-Winning When We Were Kings

When We Were Kings

When We Were Kings is a 1996 documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the famous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire on October 30, 1974.The film features a number of celebrities, including James Brown, Jim...

. She has since written songs for films such as Sweet Home Alabama, Ella Enchanted and Aquamarine as well as many TV shows including Guiding Light, All My Children, Laguna Beach, Castle and America's Next Top Model. Most recently, her song, "As If We Never Said Goodbye" was recorded and performed on the episode "Born This Way

Born This Way (Glee)

"Born This Way" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 40th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 26, 2011. The episode was written by Brad Falchuk and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and is a tribute to...

" of Fox's hit TV series, Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, on April 26, 2011, and attracted much praise.

Family entertainment

Power's songs have been featured in Mattel's Barbie Movies including Barbie and the Diamond Castle

Barbie and the Diamond Castle

Barbie and the Diamond Castle is a 2008 direct-to-video computer-animated film that was released on September 9, 2008. The film features the voice of Kelly Sheridan, who has voiced the Barbie protagonist in the CGI Barbie film series...

, Annie Award nominated Disney Princess: Enchanted Tales, The Little Engine That Could (2011 Film)

The Little Engine That Could (2011 film)

The Little Engine That Could is a 2011 CGI film based on the story by Watty Piper. The film was released direct to DVD in the United States on March 22, 2011.-Cast:...

, and more.

Personal life

Powers lives in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband, film and theater producer J. Todd Harris, and their two sons, Jasper and Cole.

Nominations

Powers was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for "Shine" in Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses is a 2006 direct-to-video computer animated Barbie film directed by Greg Richardson and loosely based on the fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". It is part of the Barbie film series and features the voice of Kelly Sheridan as the Barbie protagonist. This...

 in 2007, and for an Annie Award

Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production

The Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production is an award given annually, except 2002, to the best music in an animated feature film, theatrical or direct-to-video. It began in 1997 as the Annie Award for Best Individual Achievement: Music in a Feature/Home Video Production...

 for Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams is a 2007 direct-to-video animated feature produced by DisneyToon Studios. It is the first film in a planned new Disney Princess Enchanted Tales series of direct-to-video films, each featuring new stories about the Disney Princesses...

in 2008.