“From his iconic role on Ugly Betty to his award-winning portrayal of Arnold in Torch Song, Michael Urie has captured hearts across America,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “By using his transformational talents and global platform to celebrate openness and authenticity, Michael Urie is bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community and making a real difference for countless people. HRC is proud to honor Michael Urie with the HRC Visibility Award at our 2019 Western New York Dinner.”

Dividing his time between film, television and theatre, in front of and behind the cameras, Michael Urie is one of the most versatile and respected talents of his generation. He was first introduced to the international television audience as the unforgettable Marc St. James on the award-winning Ugly Betty. Since the series finale in 2010, his best known work has been on stage, where he most recently starred in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Torch Song. His rave reviews mirrored those he earned for his brilliant and hilarious one-man show, Buyer & Cellar, where he played multiple characters – including Barbra Streisand – to sold-out off-Broadway, national and London audiences and for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance, the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer, the Lucille Lortel Award and the L.A. Drama Critics Award. His reliably award-winning stage performances also include starring roles in The Temperamentals,  Homos, or Everyone in America, Hamlet for acclaimed director Michael Kahn, and The Government Inspector, for which the New York Times’ Ben Brantley said,  “Urie establishes himself as a bona fide leading man, in the tradition of great physical comedy performers like Kevin Kline.” Urie also remains devoted to television, juggling time for guest-starring and recurring roles in Modern Family, The Good Wife, The Good Fight and TV Land’s Younger.

The 2019 HRC Western New York Dinner will take place at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Tickets and more information are available at https://www.hrc.org/events/western-new-york-dinner

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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