Which Rachel Berry quote follows Lea Michele everywhere? Actress dishes on fan obsession to this 'Glee' moment

Lea Michele can’t seem to escape the character she portrayed in Glee, as fans keep sharing quotes from the popular musical comedy-drama series, which ran from 2009 to 2025.

Michele revealed in a PEOPLE exclusive published on November 23, 2025, that she would often hear the line, "I'm like Tinkerbell, I need applause to live," whenever she interacted with fans of Glee.

Michele, who played Rachel Berry in the series, says the line in the 18th episode of the first season after she gets a sore throat and panics as she is about to perform. 

The Fox series followed the lives of the glee club members at a high school in Ohio as they sang covers of popular songs. Leah Michelle starred in the series alongside Jane Lynch, Naya Rivera, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith and Kevin McHale, among others. 

Michelle, who is currently starring on the Broadway musical Chess, remarked that some other Glee alumni were also doing musicals because they were all “insanely talented.”

Lea Michele revealed details about her experience as a cast member in the Glee series

Michele appeared on the May 8, 2025, episode of Therapuss with Jake Shane, where she revealed details about her time playing Rachel Berry on the Glee series. She expressed that her relationship with deceased costar Cory Monteith was a “huge part of the whole experience.”

“Literally everything … we were all so young and everybody was growing up and falling in love and for me that was a huge part of the whole experience for me ... was my, this great love." 

Monteith, who played Finn Hudson on the show, died from a heroin and alcohol overdose in 2013, aged 31. 

Michele added about her time on the show:

 "It was so unbelievable that you would be watching the show, and when I watch it, I can tell you exactly ... I'd be like 'Oh, that day I was sobbing in my dressing room.' Or, 'That day was the best day in the world' ... But the only people that know all of that were the people who were in that room."

Michele revealed that she enjoyed her time on the show and might someday write a book about her experiences.

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