When Eva Noblezada heard she was nominated for a Tony Award for her leading role in “Miss Saigon,” she did what any sensible 21-year-old would do.

She started cleaning her apartment.

Five minutes later, the reality of her Tony nomination set in, prompting tears and phone calls. Still, the newcomer has learned how to contend with big news, after she was catapulted from high school to the West End as a teenager.

Noblezada was cast as the lead role in the West End’s “Miss Saigon” at age 17, after she was spotted by casting director Tara Rubin — who said she was struck by her voice as well as her “incredible sense of self-possession and determination” — at a high school musical theater competition.

Months after winning the competition, Noblezada moved to London and did a brief stint as an ensemble member in “Les Misérables,” another show by “Miss Saigon” producer Cameron Mackintosh, so that she could learn the ins-and-outs of professional theater before taking on a starring role. “I could have been a ghost. I wasn’t even in the program,” Noblezada said.

Now on Broadway, she’s earned a Tony nomination for her role as Kim, a young Vietnamese girl who falls in love with an American soldier at the end of his deployment during the Vietnam War. She’s vying for the award of best leading actress in a musical alongside veteran actors Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole and fellow newcomer, Denée Benton.

Tony Nominees Talk About Their First Jobs

Noblezada was a couple of classes away from graduating high school when she moved to London for the role. Her initial plan, however, was always to bypass college and instead move to New York and waitress while trying to make it as an actor. She has since taken on the task of studying anatomy, physiology, Spanish and French “as a hobby,” but still resists the notion of attending college.

“I would have wasted so much money going to a college, to have the same [repertoire] as everybody who looks like me, to be told that my natural, wild acting had to be tamed,” she said. “I think that the best learning that I had was the experience. It was harder, it wasn’t tens of thousands of dollars a year, and I got to make amazing friendships on the journey through it.”

Noblezada acknowledges that going to college may be the best path for others. Still, the degree does not necessarily lead to a job in the field, as there were about 700,000 bachelor degree holders who had majored in drama or theater in the U.S. in 2015, but only an estimated 70,000 people working as actors at the time, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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As she plans for her future, which may include a return to London or a foray into film, Noblezada said she tries to be responsible with her paycheck. But she doesn’t want to “be the girl who sits in her apartment and does nothing but save.”

That means she sometimes splurges on clothing items or accessories like a recent vintage bag which she plans to bring on her upcoming vacation, the first since she’s been on Broadway. But she balances that out by putting aside some money for retirement. “I started that because my dad can’t call me without mentioning a Roth IRA,” Noblezada said. “I did it to appease him, but then I felt like an adult as soon as I did.”

Financial advisors recommend that 20-year-olds create “solid savings habits” for the future, which can include putting money in a Roth IRA. But they also recognize that young people may be pressed to spend on short-term life experiences and to repay debts such as student loans.

On Broadway, actors may be creating a savings plan based on $1,974 per week, the base minimum salary for a principal role, but that amount can increase based on contract negotiations and additions from the producers.

Noblezada learned how to budget early on. She attended a performing arts high school in North Carolina, but largely did not have the opportunity to formally train outside of it before hitting the professional circuit. She had to push herself as an actress. “I couldn’t afford dance lessons, I couldn’t afford singing lessons in high school, I had to work my butt off in my room, by myself,” she said.

Now, her Broadway regimen includes working with a vocal coach to tune-up and strengthen her voice, in addition to staying fit and taking two shows off a week, during which she is contractually obligated to rest her voice.

As for the Tony Awards on June 11, Noblezada said she has not yet settled on a dress, nor has she written a speech. The nomination itself is an honor, she said, but besides an increase in press and casting meetings, she’s going about her business as usual.

“I don’t take myself seriously enough to focus my whole being on awards, because I don’t do my job for awards,” she said. “But I do really appreciate the recognition the show’s getting.”