Idina Menzel, born Idina Mentzel, was born in Queens, New York, on May 30, 1971, to Stuart and Helene Mentzel. She dropped the "t" in her name when she was in her 20s because it was constantly pronounced wrong. It should be pronounced "Menzelle, - like French, but not." Her first name was for her grandmother Ida and it means gentle in Hebrew. She moved in between Queens and New Jersey until she was in 2nd grade, when her parents settled in Syosset, Long Island. She always wanted to be a singer. When she was 5, counselors at her summer camp noticed she was subconsciously harmonizing to
… More "Cat's in the Cradle." She was told this was a special gift and was encouraged to sing in front of people and preformed in talent shows and grade school musicals. Ironically enough, when she was 8, she played Dorothy in the elementary school's performance of The Wizard of Oz. Later that year, she started vocal lessons and was trained in classical singing until she reached high school. At that time, she became more interested in R&B and jazz.Idina stared in Syosset High School's production of the musical Carousel as the 60-year old Nettie because the director felt her voice sounded the most mature. Later that year, Idina wanted to do more with her voice, lied about her age and auditioned for a wedding band. She learned much about different styles of music over the 8 years she sang with various wedding bands, including jazz, rock, oldies, and Motown. Idina attended the New York University's Tisch School of Drama and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Drama. She originally wanted to major in music, but switched because she was unhappy with the school's music department. After grauduation, she began to focus more on writing her own music and performing.
Almost broke and wanting to keep her dreams alive, Idina auditioned for an off-Broadway show, RENT and got the role of Maureen, a bisexual performance artist. RENT was an instant hit, it opened off Broadway on January 14, 1996 and went to Broadway opening on April 29, 1996. Idina was nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Maureen, but she unfortunately did not win. She left RENT on July 1, 1997 when Hollywood Records approached her with a recording deal. "Still I Can't Be Still" was released in September 15, 1998. Unfortunately, it did not sell and was dropped from the record label in 1999.
A depressed Idina returned to the New York stage to star as Kate in The Wild Party on February 24, 2000 through April 2, 2000. Idina was becoming a Broadway star and began to perform in benefits and was the second Amneris in Adia during the fall of 2001.
After she left RENT, Idina began dating her RENT and The Wild Party co-star, Taye Diggs. The two were married in Jamaica, where Taye shot How Stella Got Her Groove Back , on January 11, 2003. The term "Tidina" was created by hard-core RENT heads to describe the two. The two are very close and Idina says that Taye picks out her clothes! The couple say they want kids in the future although they are both currently focusing on their careers.
In 2003, Idina got her biggest break which made her into a huge Broadway star. She was living in San Francisco and heard about a new musical Wicked, which told the true story of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. Idina felt an instant connection to the role of Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West), put on some green makeup and went to audition. She got the part and Wicked was an instant hit, going to Broadway on October 30, 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre. The show has been sold out every night since then. Idina won a Tony Award, best leading actress in a musical, for her performance. She also released a second CD, "Here" on February 10, 2004. On January 8, 2005, Idina was injured and was unable to continue her role. She came onstage to a 5 minute long standing ovation on January 9th.
Idina took a brief break from performing after Wicked. In early May 2005, she began filming the movie version of RENT where she reprised her role as Maureen. The director, Chis Columbus, was originally going to cast a younger Maureen (who is supposed to be in her 20s) but he felt that Idina looked young enough for the part. The movie opened on November 23, 2005 to mixed reviews, and has not been nominated for many awards. One of the major complaints from viewers of the RENT movie was that they wanted to hear more of Idina's singing! It was released on DVD on February 21, 2006. She spent summer 2005 touring with her band, performing her own music, and songwriting. She says that she wants to tour more in the future. A third album is in the works and will be released later this year, this time by Warner Bros. Records. Idina also presented at the 2005 Tehnical Tony Awards. From September to December, Idina started in See What I Wanna See at the New York Public Theatre, the soundtrack for which was released on March 7, 2006. She also is appearing in the movies The Tollbooth, released February 2, 2006, and Ask the Dust with Collin Farrell, March 10, 2006. Recently, Idina peformed in several benefits, including The Public Sing!, a benefit for the New York Public Theatre and Katie Couric's benefit Hollywood Meets Motown for colon cancer research.
Idina has one of the most successful careers for a Broadway star. RENT had its 10th Anniversary on 4/24/06, making it the 6th longest running show on Broadway. Idina performed in a benefit for the show in which the entire original Broadway cast came back for one special preformance on 4/24/2006. The event took place at the Nederlander Theatre in NYC. The entire theatre was packed at it was a great success! In 2007, she will star in the half live-action, half cartoon movie called Enchatned, alongside Amy Adams, Grey's Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey, and Susan Sarandon. It is a Disney movie,and should be out next February. Idina says that now is one of the sweetest times of her life and she is so happy to be living through it.
I hope all you fans know that she was in Wicked as Elphaba , she is really good :D I am a fan , yes , so lets talk about all her appearences and stuff
Thinks Idina Menzel is incredibly awesome and amazing?
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I just recently became aware of Idina Menzel's music and I think she is just wonderful! She is so incredibly talented, beautiful, and unique! I thought some of her fans might like to take a look at her widget and maybe even post it to their Myspace or Facebook accounts! (there are lots of other profiles/sites you can post it on, too!) Please help spread the word about this remarkable woman! :) There are too many people are currently unaware of her music so we need to spread the word to allow more people to experience how wonderful she is! http://www.clearspring.com/widgets/48583b018da8aa42
This woman is a force of nature, I'll agree with Miriam Margoyles. Idina has proven she's got chops- singing, acting, you name it. I have yet to see this woman try something and fail to do it. Well. She's an incredible talent, and very original, a welcome reprieve from an industry in which everyone seems the same after a while. Her originality, her depth of character, and her vibrace and life continue to shine in whatever project she takes on. She is classy, she is talented, and if I should ever have a daughter, I hope she finds someone like Idina Menzel to look up to, instead of the many Paris Hiltons and Nicole Richies in the world. Idina is truly original and a blessing to the entertainment industry, and I am proud to call myself her fan.
She was phenomenal in Wicked...well, ok, i didn't SEE wicked, but i have the OBCR and her voice is absolutely breathe taking!
wicked , this woman is wicked , really , I live England so I went to go see the musical 'wicked' in London with my drama group and I got the chance to see her as Elphaba and she was brilliant , smashing , terrific , wicked !!!! I havn't gotten a chance to hear or buy her album 'still I can't be still' . she has been nominated for preformences in 'Wicked' , 'rent' , 'see what I wanna see' and 'wild party' . she has won a tony award for 'best leading actress in musical' and has won the Broadway.com Audience Award for best onstage pair with Kristin Chenoweth . I think she is really good .
Idina Menzel is totally amazing. Thats all I can say. Or not, since I need 100 words. I love Wicked, happen to be listening to it at the moment, acctually, and am being introdouced to Rent by a good friend who's taste I am inclined to trust. I acctualy did Idina for my Hero Speech at my Bat Mitzvah, seeing as how she is Jewish, and I am an aspiring actress myself. I cannot wait for Enchanted to come out. What else can I say? She is amazing. I saw her in Wicked on Broadway, and she was unbelievably wonderful.
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