6 things you have to know about Lea Michele.

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Call Lea Michele a drama queen and she'll probably just smile. That's because she's been on Broadway since she was 8--first nabbing the coveted role of young Cosette in Les Miserables, then starring in the hit musical Spring Awakening. Now 23, Lea's landed a spot On Fox's Glee as Rachel Berry, the preppy, famehungry-yet-adorable overachiever. Here's why being Rachel is almost like being herself--and why she's a perfect shopping buddy!

She's just, like Rachel. "I Pretty much am Rachel Berry I totally understand her strive to be great, how much effort she puts Into things, her dedication."

She fallows her own lead. "I've never been or tried experimenting with drugs or anything like that. I always try to stick to what I think is right and what I believe in, not what's considered cool."

She's close with her Glee co-star. "I've known Jenna Ushkowitz--who plays Tina--since I was 8. We're both from New York, both were in Spring Awokening and both ended up on Glee."

She's a bargain shopper. "I just went to Forever 21 and bought like 20 dresses for under $200--I like to see how much I can get for as little money as possible."

She's obsessed with Friday Night Lights. "Obviously, it has some insanely gorgeous guys on it. But I do think it's one of the best, most well-acted shows on television."

She makes a killer cupcake." For Cory Monteith's [Finn Hudson on Glee] birthday, I made him vanilla cupcakes with red and white frosting because he's Canadian. They were perfect. That's what I do for fun."