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Idina Menzel

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Albums8
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AboutFrom the Artist

I was born in New York City to Stuart and Helene Mentzel (no that's not a spelling mistake). I took out the t because everyone always pronounces it wrong. Now it's like Menzelle - like French, but not.

We moved from Queens to New Jersey but by the 2nd grade we settled in Woodbury, Long Island, where I lived until I went to NYU. I always knew I wanted to sing. I was 5 and in summer camp where we were singing "Cat's in the Cradle" and I was somehow harmonizing by accident; all of the counselors made a big deal. Later I brought down the house in this talent show where I performed "The Way We Were" with the biggest Long Island accent you've ever heard (I'm still made fun of today for that). Coincidentally, in the 5th grade I was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" and Mabel in "The Pirates of Penzance" - the latter was pretty challenging for elementary school. I went to a voice teacher when I was 8 and I sang some songs from "Annie" and she said I was screaming so much that she didn't want me to hurt myself, so she took me on.

By the time I got to Syosset High School, I was cast as 60-year old nettie in "Carousel"; our director felt that my voice sounded the most mature. At that time, I was studying classically with Mr. Arnold but found myself wanting to listen to and imitate R&B singers: Aretha, Chaka Kahn, Etta James and the list goes on.

Instead of working at the local delicatessen, I auditioned for a wedding band, lied about my age and got hired as the lead singer. I had to buy a black cocktail dress and learn everything from jazz to rock to motown. I started writing my own songs and when I got to NYU, I focused less on class and more on trying to get a record deal and keep my own band together which isn't a very easy thing to do when you have very little money and no name. Then on a whim, I auditioned for a show called "Rent" which I thought would fit perfectly into my calendar being that January and February are slow months for weddings. But that year, December 1995 New Year's Eve was my final wedding gig at the Four Seasons in Philly.

"Rent" went to Broadway and I had a new, wonderful family. The show allowed me the opportunity to record my own album and tour with it. I played at Lillith Fair, started working on a second album, got dropped by my record label, cried a lot and then went right back to the theater where I have always felt so comfortable. I was in a fabulous show called "The Wild Party," by Andrew Lippa and got to be on stage with my (now) husband whom, as some of you may know, I met in "Rent."

Since then I 've been trying to go wherever the water is warm; whether it be music or theater or film, I'm just trying to do what I love. One day I heard about a new musical based on the book "Wicked", so I put on green lipstick and smokey black eye shadow and went to audition for the green girl. I got the project and I've been working on it ever since (almost 3 years). And now I 'm living in one of the sweetest times of my life. Just the sweetest.

Thanks for caring. xoxo, Idina.

Idina Kim Menzel (/ɪˈdiːnə mɛnˈzɛl/; born Idina Kim Mentzel; May 30, 1971) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.

Menzel rose to prominence when she originated the role of Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical Rent. Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination in 1996. She reprised the role in the musical's 2005 film adaptation. In 2003, Menzel originated the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, a performance for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Menzel returned to Broadway as Elizabeth Vaughan in the 2014 musical If/Then, which earned her a third Tony Award nomination.

Additionally, Menzel is known for portraying the role of Shelby Corcoran on the musical dramedy TV series Glee from 2010 to 2013 as well as portraying Nancy Tremaine in the 2007 Disney live action/animated film Enchanted and being the voice of Queen Elsa in Walt Disney Animation Studios' hit 2013 computer-animated musical film Frozen, in which she sang the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning song "Let It Go". The song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Menzel the first Tony Award-winning actress to reach the top 10. She ultimately won a Grammy award for the film's soundtrack. Her album Holiday Wishes was released in 2014 and reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart, making it her highest charting album to date.

Menzel is usually classified as a mezzo-soprano. Writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sharon Eberson wrote, "Possessing a voice that could be categorized as coquettish to flat-out belter and everything in between—and with a stage presence to match—she usually is labeled a mezzo-soprano. But why pigeonhole someone so intriguingly offbeat? Ms. Menzel interprets songs as much as an actress as a singer, and therein lies her connection to the music and her fans." Describing Menzel as a loud, "full-volume soprano" similar to Broadway actress Ethel Merman, Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote of Menzel's voice, "The sound she creates when she belts in her high soprano register is a primal cry embedded in her being that insists that we listen and pay attention." Holden continued, "Depending on the song, her voice can sound babyish and demanding, or it can sound grand and imperial."

Describing Menzel as a singer with a "husky voice, which sometimes veers toward shrieking until she effortlessly reins herself in or, amazingly, kicks it up another notch," Melissa Ruggieri of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution concluded that she possesses "a superior instrument" both in studio and live. On her own vocal technique, Menzel revealed that she prefers to avoid moving her shoulders while singing, telling The Philippine Star, "I actually try to take a smaller breath for a bigger, longer note because there's less air that will come pummeling out." Professionally trained as a classical singer from age eight, Menzel decided to pursue other genres, specifically R&B and jazz when she entered high school. Upon becoming a wedding singer, Menzel was eventually exposed to a wide variety of genres, ranging from jazz and rock to Motown.

Menzel married actor Taye Diggs on January 11, 2003. They met in 1995 during the original production of Rent, in which Diggs portrayed the role of Benjamin Coffin III, the landlord. On September 2, 2009, she gave birth to their son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs. In late 2013, it was reported that Menzel and Diggs had separated after ten years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized on December 3, 2014. Her cousin is film critic Scott Menzel.

Menzel began dating actor Aaron Lohr and they appeared together in April 2015 at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In August 2015, Menzel and Lohr bought a home located in Encino, Los Angeles, California. They both starred in the 2005 film adaptation of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical Rent as well as the Off-Broadway musical See What I Wanna See. On September 23, 2016, Menzel announced that she and Lohr were engaged (via her Twitter account). They were married over the weekend of September 22, 2017.

Menzel identifies as a feminist, saying "I love that I play all of these strong women. But they're not just strong— they're women who have a really deep vulnerability and need to go through a journey in order to harness their power."

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