Idina Menzel

about

Idina Kim Menzel (pronounced /ɪˈdiːnə mɛnˈzɛl/; née Mentzel; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked, and for voicing the character Elsa in the Disney movie Frozen. Idina was born on Long Island, New York, to a Jewish family. Her mother, Helene, is a therapist, and her father, Stuart Mentzel, worked as a pajama salesman. She was raised in Syosset, New York, with her younger sister Cara, and later changed the spelling of her last name (Mentzel) because of constant mispronunciation. When Menzel was 15 years old, her parents divorced and she began working as a wedding and bar mitzvah singer. A job she continued throughout her time at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Drama at NYU. In 1995, Menzel auditioned for Rent, which became her first professional theater job and her Broadway debut. Rent opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 26, 1996. The show moved to Broadway's Nederlander Theatre due to its popularity. For her performance as Maureen Johnson in the original cast, Menzel received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Her final performance in the musical was on July 1, 1997. Following the success of Rent, Menzel released her first solo album entitled "Still I Can't Be Still" on "Hollywood Records," Menzel also originated the role of Dorothy in Summer o

top songs

albums

Holiday Wishes

Frozen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Deluxe Edition)

Frozen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Frozen

Christmas: A Season of Love

I Stand

Christmas Wishes

Wicked

Defying Gravity

Frozen 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Deluxe Edition)

idina.

Making Today a Perfect Day (From "Frozen Fever")

similar artists