Fresno native Audra McDonald has been named the grand marshal of the 2024 Rose Parade.
Driving the news: McDonald is a Tony Award-winning actress who got her start in performing arts at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre in Fresno.
- The Rose Parade is celebrating its 135th year and will have McDonald as the grand marshal when it takes place in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2024.
- McDonald has won six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.
- The Rose Parade’s theme on New Year’s Day is “Celebrating a World of Music.”
- McDonald will also participate in the coin toss during the Rose Bowl later in the day, which is also serving as a College Football Playoff game this year.
What they’re saying: “I am so grateful and my family is so grateful to be able to kick off 2024 in my home state underneath the California sunshine surrounded by flowers, football fans and music,” McDonald said at a press conference Friday. “Every January 1st, I would wake up early to watch the parade and the game with my family. I always found the floats with their colors and flowers so magical as a kid, and I still do.”
