Andrea Prestinario;

Luxembourg’s growing community of dual citizens in the United States continues to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries, with many embracing their heritage and expressing it through language, tradition and entrepreneurship.

Chronicle.lu has partnered with Luxembourg Dual Citizenship Consultation Services for a series of articles on Luxembourg Americans – individuals who have reclaimed Luxembourg nationality to become dual citizens. The first article in the series – facilitated by Mary Gellerup Bolich – introduced Kate Ansay, a dual citizen from Wisconsin whose business, Everyday Luxembourg, brings a taste of Luxembourg to homes across the United States. 

This second article introduces Andrea Prestinario, a dual citizen from Illinois, who set her sights on musical performance from early childhood.

Six-year-old Andrea Prestinario watched her father's friend sing in a local mall, and then announced: “I want to do that.” 

Andrea, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights, is a queer award-winning performer and producer with a 20-year career of performing across the country. She worked as an actor/singer in Chicago for ten years before moving to New York City in 2012.

“I started singing when I was six years old. At age eleven, I performed in the children’s chorus in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ in Chicago with Donny Osmond and decided that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And here we are,” Andrea said.

Serious about her professional goals, Andrea played flute in elementary (primary) school, took voice lessons and added piano lessons at age thirteen “to be more marketable.” She attended an all-girls catholic school renowned for its liberal arts focus and performed in school musicals and plays. She then earned a degree in musical theatre at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, with a minor in gender studies.

Along with a passion for music and theater, Andrea grew up being very cognisant of her family’s heritage.

“My mom is 100% Luxembourger, and my dad is half Polish, half Italian. I always felt very connected to our heritage and grew up hearing all the stories about my ancestors. Our cultural roots were really celebrated in the foods we ate, especially for the holidays.”

Prestinario’s Thill ancestors hailed from Kopstal, and her Bohr ancestors were from Larochette, Ernzen and Vianden.

Her father, Jeff, who attended college on a basketball scholarship, owned his own marketing business and her mother, Pam, recently retired as a certified public accountant. The family travelled in Luxembourg in 2019, and she, her mother and two younger sisters, Michelle and Julie, all obtained their dual citizenship.

Building a Career in Musical Performance

Andrea Prestinario returned home this autumn to perform at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois, playing Beverley Bass, American Airlines’ first female captain, in the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away. When the Paramount Theatre first started its Broadway Series in 2011, Prestinario played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Other favorite roles she has played over the years include Alison in Fun Home (Baltimore Center Stage), Maureen in RENT (Paramount Theatre), Martha in 1776 (American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco), and Louise in Gypsy (Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois). Andrea Prestinario, a member of the League of Professional Theater Women and listed on the 2025 Women to Watch on Broadway by the Broadway Women’s Fund, has also appeared in TV episodes of Succession, Law & Order and The Equalizer.

Now living in Harlem with her wife Klea Blackhurst, also a singer and actor and their Yorkie Yip, Andrea is pursuing her lifelong dream of performing on Broadway. She is also passionate about social justice issues, including queer rights. She is co-founder of a non-profit organisation called Ring of Keys that fosters community and visibility for musical theatre artists on- and offstage who identify as queer women, transgender and gender-non-conforming. She is also a runner and surprised herself by becoming an avid cook during the pandemic. 

“I also love to read although I’m not able to spend much time doing that at the moment. Being an artist is a full-time, 24/7 job. I am seeing shows all the time. Being out and about and socialising is a big part of who I am. And I’m a big community builder.”

Connecting to Her Luxembourgish Roots

Having dual citizenship is important to her and her family for several reasons. 

“It’s deeply meaningful to have that tie back to my roots and the fact that they offer citizenship through proof of your ancestors is amazing. My sisters wanted to do it for their kids. I wanted to get my dual citizenship not only to connect with my heritage, but I love to travel and now I can use my EU passport,” she said.

An avid traveller, Andrea Prestinario was pleasantly surprised by Luxembourg during her visit six years ago. 

“I love Europe in general and Luxembourg is such a rich country, rich in culture and such good people. I was surprised by how much it had to offer because I had heard how tiny it was. My trip there was also very meaningful because I went with my sisters and my mom and dad, it was just the five of us. It was a unique time for us to have that time together, to be in Luxembourg, exploring together and learning about my mom’s roots.”

On the Heritage Day of the groups tour, the Prestinarios found their grandmother/great-grandmother Thill’s house in Kopstal and met her cousin’s sons there.

“I was always aware of my heritage growing up but I’ve definitely become more connected to my Luxembourg roots as I’ve gotten older,” Andrea concluded.