IDINA MENZEL Biography
American actress, singer and songwriter Idina Menzel was born on May 30, 1971, in Syosset, New York. Raised in New York and New Jersey, she began singing at the age of five and was a lead singer for a wedding band at 15 years old. Indina graduated from New York University's Tisch School of Arts with a BFA in drama and made her feature film debut in the 2001 movie "Kissing Jessica Stein." She has appeared in the films "Tollbooth" "Ask The Dusk" and the movie version of "Rent" and had a small part on the TV series "Rescue Me." Idina is best known for her stage work with original cast member roles as Elpheba in "Wicked" and as Maureen Johnson in the Pulitzer-prize-winning "Rent." This is where she met her husband and fellow actor Taye Diggs. On Taye and Idina's first date, they saw the movie "Twister," and they have two cats named Coltrane and Ella and a dog named Sam Davis.
Idina Menzel got her start on the stage, rising to fame in the Broadway productions of the musicals +Rent and +Wicked, the latter of which she starred in as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. In 2003, Menzel married +Rent co-star Taye Diggs, who had already begun a successful crossover to film and television acting. Menzel followed suit, but started out in more low-profile roles, as she remained active on the stage as well. She essayed bit parts in such features as the sleeper hit Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) and Just a Kiss (2002), and appeared in guest roles on such series as Grounded for Life, Rescue Me, and Diggs' short-lived drama Kevin Hill. Menzel graduated to supporting billing as the sister of the lead in The Tollbooth (2004) -- a comedy drama about a young painter struggling desperately to find herself despite the objections of her parents -- as well as reprising her +Rent role in the 2005 film adaptation of that musical. In 2007, she was cast in another supporting role, this time in the highly promoted (primarily) live-action Disney fairy tale Enchanted. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
IDINA MENZEL lyrics and albums
