Heathwood graduate makes it in Hollywood
Contributed by Heathwood Hall School

Adrienne "Monique" Coleman Heathwood Class of '98 Photo courtesy Newsweek

"Monique" Coleman ('98) was a star of Heathwood's theatre program, singing, dancing and acting on the stage of the Belser Auditorium. Today, her high school passion and earlier sacrifices to pursue child acting have blossomed into a successful career as she settles nicely into the national television spotlight.

Known during her Heathwood days by her first name, Adrienne, she uses her middle name, Monique, professionally and is one of the stars of Disney's wildly popular High School Musical (HSM).

This month, she has been showing off her dance moves competing on ABC's Dancing with the Stars . HSM has been a 2006 pop culture phenomenon with teen and pre-teen viewers. The runaway hit musical began as a made-for-TV movie and merited a multi-page feature in the July 24 issue of Newsweek magazine, which wrote: Almost 37 million viewers have watched the $4.2 million production at least once since its first airing, and the musical surged back into the spotlight this month, grabbing six Emmy nominations.

The soundtrack, a top-10 hit since its January release, is the year's biggest-selling CD, at 2.7 million copies. After five weeks, the DVD has sold an eye-popping 2.1 million copies.

With steady professional acting work dating back to children's roles during her Heathwood days, Monique has made a name for herself in Hollywood and gone on to appear in popular TV shows such as Gilmore Girls and Boston Public . She currently has a regular role on The Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody . Next up for Monique: High School Musical II. Stay tuned!