- Born
- Birth nameIdina Kim Mentzel
- Nicknames
- Dee
- Adele Dazeem
- Height1.68 m
- Idina Menzel was born on May 30, 1971 in New York City, New York as Idina Kim Mentzel. She's an American actress, singer & songwriter. She's best known as Maureen in Rent, Elphaba in Wicked & the voice of Elsa in La Reine des neiges (2013). Her mother Helene Goldberg was a therapist & her father Stuart Mentzel was a pajama salesman. Her grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Russia. She grew up in New Jersey & on Long Island. At 15, she started to work as a wedding & bar mitzvah singer. She attended Syosset High School & graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts w/ a degree in drama in 1992.
In 1996, she debuted in theater, originating the role of Maureen in Rent, which went from Off-Broadway to Broadway. This role also got Menzel her 1st Tony nomination. In 1998, she released her 1st album Still I Can't Be Still. She made her movie debut in 2001 when she played a minor role in La Tentation de Jessica (2001). In 2003, she became 1 of the most popular Broadway performers when she originated the role of Elphaba in Wicked. This role brought her not only huge popularity & acclaim, but also a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
In 2005, she appeared in the Off-Broadway musical See What I Wanna See, earning Drama Desk Award & Drama League Award nominations. The same year, she reprised the role of Maureen in the movie adaptation of Rent (2005). In 2007, she appeared in Il était une fois... (2007). In 2013, she received another Tony nomination for her performance in If/Then. She voiced Elsa for the 1st time in La Reine des neiges (2013), a role she often reprises for sequels & tie-ins. In addition to theater, movie & TV appearances, she regularly releases new music & goes on tour.- IMDb mini biography by: Evil_Herbivore
- SpousesAaron Lohr(September 2017 - present)Taye Diggs(January 11, 2003 - December 3, 2014) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenWalker Diggs
- ParentsHelene MentzelStuart Mentzel
- RelativesCara Mentzel(Sibling)
- During the 86th Academy Awards, John Travolta completely mispronounced her name by introducing her as "Adele Dazeem". At the Academy Awards the following year, when Menzel and Travolta presented the Best Original Song, she jokingly mispronounced his name as "Glom Gazingo".
- Graduated from NYU w/ a B.A. in fine arts (1993).
- Graduated from Syosset High School.
- Mother, with ex-husband Taye Diggs, of son Walker Diggs.
- Daughter of Stuart Mentzel and Helene Mentzel.
- [on the international "Rent" craze] It's hard to absorb and to allow all that attention and accolades for Rent because the rest of the country doesn't know who we are. Once I walk out of the door of "Rent:, and I'm on the subway, it doesn't matter. It's an exaggerated sense of fame.
- Things happen for a reason, and in their own time.
- I feel like I was born to do this... I started working professionally as soon as I could, doing weddings and things like that in high school, while everyone else was having keg parties. I just felt destined to do it and really committed and driven; it was something that just felt right all my life.
- I've been singing since I was born. It's something I do everywhere I go. In the shower, walking down the street. I don't need any impetus to do it. I just sing.
- [on her courtship with her husband, Taye Diggs, whom she met through the musical "Rent"] Everyone got really close, but Taye and I especially became close friends. And then, one night, we went to the movies, and I think we saw Twister (1996), and he held my hand. And there it was!
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