Kristin Chenoweth
Chenoweth at the Oxford Union, 2009
Born	Kristi Dawn Chenoweth July 24, 1968 (1968-07-24) (age 40) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Author
Official website

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968)¹ is an American singer, musical theatre, film, and television actress, and bestselling author. Some of her best-known roles have included her Tony Award winning role as Sally Brown in Broadway's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, her Tony Award nominated role as Glinda in Broadway's Wicked, and her role as Annabeth Schott in television's The West Wing. She most recently appeared in the role of Olive Snook on the ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Chenoweth is also the face of Jude Frances jewelry.

Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice. In FHM's March 2006 issue, she compared her voice to that of Betty Boop.

Chenoweth is a classically trained coloratura soprano, and well known for her skilled singing technique and artistic interpretations. She has the ability to vocalize any style of music. A master of timbre and versatility, she has a vocal range of four octaves.² Chenoweth is able to vocally reach the note of "F6" (1396.913Hz), also known as "F above High C."³

Early life

Adopted at birth, Kristi Dawn Chenoweth grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Her lineage includes one-quarter Cherokee ancestry.^{citation needed} Her vocal ability and talent were realized at a young age, performing songs for local churches. A highlight of her childhood was a special solo appearance at the Southern Baptist Convention national conference at the age of 12. She performed the song "I'm Four Foot Eleven and I'm Going to Heaven" for an audience of ~40,000 delegates.⁴⁵

Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) Sorority. She earned a degree in musical theatre and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under the prestigious voice instructor Florence Birdwell. Well known for her teaching ability, Professor Birdwell has trained other notables such as Miss America 1981 Susan Powell and three-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara. It was Birdwell who suggested to Chenoweth that she add an "n" to her first name, reasoning that the name "Kristin" was perhaps more classically suited for an opera singer. While at OCU, Chenoweth won the title of "Miss OCU" and went on to win second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991. For a period of time, she performed on stage at Opryland USA.

Chenoweth won a number of competitions, including a "most talented up-and-coming singer" award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. Two weeks before school started, she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there, she auditioned for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of the musical Animal Crackers and got the role of Arabella Rittenhouse. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to do the show and pursue a career in musical theatre.⁶ She is 4 ft 11 in (150 cm).

Career

Theatre

Kristin Chenoweth (holding her dog, Madeline Kahn "Maddie" Chenoweth) joins Laura Bush and celebrity models to raise awareness of heart disease in the Red Dress Collection Celebrity Fashion Show.

Chenoweth made her Broadway debut in a production of Molière's Scapin starring Bill Irwin, followed in the spring of 1997 by the musical Steel Pier by John Kander and Fred Ebb, for which she won a Theatre World award. The following season, she appeared in the City Center Encores! production of the George and Ira Gershwin musical Strike up the Band and the Lincoln Center Theatre production of William Finn's A New Brain. She has performed several times on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

During the 1998–1999 season, she performed in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown as the title character's little sister, Sally, a character that was not present in the original production. (That character replaces the obscure Peanuts character Patty, not to be confused with Peppermint Patty.) The production won Chenoweth the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards as the season's Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She then starred in the Broadway comedy Epic Proportions, followed by appearances in ABC's television adaptation of the musical Annie (as Lily St. Regis), and in the leading role of Daisy Gamble in the City Center Encores! production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

In 2003, Chenoweth performed songs from her album Let Yourself Go in concert for Lincoln Center's 5th American Songbook. She also performed in City Center Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash. In London, she was involved in Divas at Donmar for director Sam Mendes, then appeared in the Actor's Fund Benefit Concert of the musical Funny Girl in New York City.

In October 2003, she returned to Broadway in Wicked, the musical about the early years of the witches of Oz. She was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Glinda. After playing Glinda for nine months (not including the years leading up to the Broadway run where she played the role in all of the show's workshops), Chenoweth left Wicked on 18 July 2004 along with co-stars Joel Grey and Norbert Leo Butz. Chenoweth was replaced by Jennifer Laura Thompson.

Chenoweth played Cunegonde in a revival of Candide, directed by Lonny Price in 2004. Price's semi-staged concert production with the New York Philharmonic under conductor Marin Alsop, ran for four performances between 5 May 2004 and 8 May 2004. The production featured Paul Groves as Candide, Sir Thomas Allen as Dr. Pangloss, Patti LuPone as the Old Lady, with choruses from both Westminster Choir College and the Juilliard School completing the performance cast, and was also broadcast on PBS's Great Performances. A performance of the rarely sung duet "We Are Women" between Cunegonde and the Old Lady was included in the production.

From December 14, 2006 to March 11, 2007, Chenoweth starred on Broadway in a production of The Apple Tree and received rave reviews for her performance. On 19 January 2007, she performed a solo concert at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, only the third musical theatre star ever to present a solo concert at the Met, following Barbara Cook and Yves Montand.⁷ Chenoweth has also performed leading roles at the Goodspeed Opera House and the Guthrie Theatre, and she was chosen by the late Jerome Robbins as the guest soloist in his West Side Story Suite of Dances at New York City Ballet.

Chenoweth hosted the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards on 20 May 2007.⁸

Chenoweth played Elizabeth in the pre-Broadway workshop in Mel Brooks' Broadway adaptation of his film Young Frankenstein, however, due to her Pushing Daisies commitments, she was unable to appear in the production. Similarly, in 2008 she had been scheduled to reprise her role as Cunegonde in an English National Opera production of Candide, but she had to pull out because of the resumption of filming.

She appeared in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Music in the Air for its short semi-staged running from February 5-8, 2009.⁹

Television and film

In television, Chenoweth starred in a short-lived sitcom, Kristin, for NBC that ran for six episodes (13 were filmed). It was a mid-season replacement in 2001 that co-starred Jon Tenney. Beginning in the sixth season (2004–2005) of The West Wing, Chenoweth had a recurring role playing media consultant Annabeth Schott, and became a main cast member in the show's seventh and final season (2005-2006). She performed "For Good," a song she had sung in Wicked, at the memorial service for her friend and West Wing costar John Spencer.

Chenoweth was a part of ABC's An American Celebration at Ford's Theatre with Kelsey Grammer, NBC's Salute to the Olympic Winners, The Kennedy Center Gala honoring Julie Andrews, and an episode of Frasier on NBC. She also starred as Marian Paroo in the ABC television production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, opposite Matthew Broderick.

Chenoweth appeared in Nora Ephron's 2005 film version of Bewitched. The film's star, Nicole Kidman, had attended a performance of Wicked and was so impressed with Chenoweth's charisma and stage presence that Kidman asked Ephron to cast Chenoweth in the film. Chenoweth got the part of Maria Kelly, Kidman's character's best friend.^10111213

In 2006, she appeared in five films including The Pink Panther, RV, Stranger Than Fiction, Running with Scissors and Deck the Halls. Chenoweth also appeared as Mr. Noodle's Sister Ms. Noodle in Sesame Street's Elmo's World television series alongside Michael Jeter and Bill Irwin.

In February 2007, Chenoweth co-hosted on an episode of The View and was invited back after performing a song from The Apple Tree on the show. She was also featured briefly in the first season finale of Ugly Betty. In fall 2007, she became a member of the cast of the ABC show Pushing Daisies. The comedic drama is the story of Ned, a man who can bring the dead back to life. Chenoweth plays Olive Snook, a co-worker and neighbor of Ned's who is in love with him. In the show, she has sung numerous times, doing a take on "Hopelessly Devoted To You" (originally performed by Olivia Newton-John in the musical film Grease)(during which she is interrupted by customers and the janitor), a duet with Ellen Green for "Birdhouse in Your Soul", Eternal Flame, and Candle on the Water with a group of male singers. Chenoweth sang in the second episode of season one. She has received good reviews including many that say she is perfect for the role.¹⁴ She received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2008 for her role as Olive in Pushing Daisies. On February 24, 2008 Chenoweth sang "That's How You Know" from the movie Enchanted¹⁵ at the 80th Academy Awards in the Kodak theatre. She also voiced as Rosetta the garden fairy in the Tinkerbell movie.

Chenoweth appeared in the 2008 holiday romantic comedy film Four Christmases, playing the sister of Reese Witherspoon's character.¹⁶ She was also in the FOX "Sit Down, Shut Up" as the voice of Miracle Grohe a science teacher.

She also appeared on the Fox News Channel's 2008 special "A Fox and Friends Christmas", where she sang "Do You Hear What I Hear?" from her Christmas album 'A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas'.¹⁷

Internet

On August 27, 2008, Chenoweth released a video with funnyordie.com titled Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth.¹⁸ The video parodied A&E's show Intervention, with Chenoweth starring as a singing, dancing interventionist. The song was composed by Andrew Lippa, Chenoweth's frequent musical director and composer for her concert songs as well as the composer of "My New Philosophy", which she sang in the revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and the lyrics were written by Amy Rhodes, who also wrote the clip.¹⁸ The video was shot in five hours in a room of a Hilton Hotel.¹⁹ Chenoweth admitted that she was hesitant about performing the lyrics. ¹⁹

Upcoming roles

• Chenoweth is slated to portray Dusty Springfield in an upcoming film on the singer's life.²⁰
• She will provide the voice of the title role for the upcoming Disney animated film Rapunzel.²¹
• Chenoweth had been scheduled to return to The Metropolitan Opera in 2010 to play Samira in John Corigliano's opera The Ghosts of Versailles after being invited by general manager Peter Gelb to perform.²² Although expected to sell-out, the Metropolitan was ultimately forced to cancel the opera because of `Ghosts' exorbitant production costs, and the company's budget limitations due to recent economic conditions.²³
• Chenoweth stars as a "suicidal prostitute" in the indie drama Into Temptation under writer-director Patrick Coyle. The film was recently screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival.²⁴
• Chenoweth has been cast to star in a new NBC David E. Kelley drama entitled Legally Mad and will play an attorney named Skippy Pylon. She recently finished shooting the pilot episode.²⁵ However, NBC passed on the show.
• Chenoweth will play a live-action role in another upcoming Fox series, Glee. She will be playing a talented former member of the glee club who returns to demonstrate her singing and performing technique.²⁶
• Chenoweth will continue to lend her voice to the role of Rosetta for the rest of the three Tinker Bell movies.
• Chenoweth will star in the Lifetime Original Movie, Twelve Men of Christmas, which will premiere in December 2009 as part of Lifetime's annual "Fa La La La Lifetime" programming.²⁷
• Chenoweth will play "a wedding extraodinator" in the Disney comedy You Again.²⁸
• Chenoweth will star in the new Off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore which will play a twelve-week engagement at the Westside Theatre beginning September 21, 2009.²⁹

Special events and appearances

Chenoweth and the cast of the Broadway musical Wicked performed the song "One Short Day" in the 2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.³⁰

In the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Chenoweth performed the song "Oklahoma" while riding aboard the "Oklahoma Rising" float. The float was making the first of three annual appearances commemorating the state of Oklahoma's statehood centennial in 2007.³¹³²

She was the star performer of the opening ceremony of the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade. She sang "Our Good Nature," an original composition written to coincide with the Oklahoma centennial celebration and the theme of the parade.³³

In the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, she performed the song "The Christmas Waltz" from her "A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas" album while riding aboard the "The Care Bears Winter Fun-Derland" float.³⁴

Chenoweth has appeared numerous times on the Prairie Home Companion live radio show with Garrison Keillor.

Personal life

Chenoweth has written a memoir about her life, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages,³⁵ describing her adoption, her turn in Wicked and her time in Hollywood. She has stated that the book is not a 'tell all', and instead focuses on "how I got where I am so far."³⁶ The book was released on April 14, 2009.³⁷ As of May 1, 2009, the book has been on The New York Times Best Seller List for two weeks.

Chenoweth has spoken publicly about her faith; she describes herself as a "non-judgmental, liberal Christian".³⁸ Raised as a Southern Baptist, she later chose to have a personal connection to a faith that is not based in any one denomination. When in California, she attends a non-denominational church in Malibu. In New York, she attends a United Methodist Church.

Chenoweth also has a large gay fanbase, and was uninvited from a Women of Faith conference in September 2005 "due to her publicized and heartfelt beliefs that God is accepting of all people on earth," including homosexuals.³⁹⁴⁰

Chenoweth released an album in April 2005 called As I Am, a mixture of hymns and contemporary Christian music, with adult contemporary arrangements. To promote the album, she made an appearance on The 700 Club, an appearance that upset some of her gay fans.⁴¹ She later said she thought that the "Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells of the world are scary" and that she regretted appearing on the show.⁴²

Chenoweth was once engaged to actor Marc Kudisch and previously dated virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell and Survivor host Jeff Probst.

She has dated and remains close friends with producer/writer Aaron Sorkin. In Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the character of Harriet Hayes bears significant resemblances to Chenoweth, and the relationship between the Christian Hayes and "East Coast liberal Jewish atheist" (her description) Matt Albie is modeled after that between Chenoweth and Sorkin;⁴³ Chenoweth's decision to appear on the 700 Club and her falling out with Women of Faith were depicted with the Hayes character.

Chenoweth has Ménière's disease, an inner-ear disorder which can cause vertigo, among other symptoms. She has said that, during some performances, she has had to literally lean on her co-stars to keep her balance.⁴⁴

Chenoweth was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in the Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC on May 30, 2009, where she was the Commencement Speaker.

Credits

Theatre appearances

Broadway

• Steel Pier (1997) — Precious McGuire/Couple #4/Couple #25
• You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999) — Sally Brown
• Epic Proportions (1999) — Louise Goldman
• Funny Girl (2002 Benefit) — one of 16 women (in the same performance) playing Fanny Brice, she sang "His Love Makes Me Beautiful"
• Wicked (2003) — Glinda
• The Apple Tree (2006) — Eve/Princess Barbára/Ella/Passionella

Off-Broadway

• The Fantasticks (year unknown) — Luisa
• Dames at Sea (year unknown) — Ruby
• Box Office of the Damned (1994) — Kristy — The New Girl
• Scapin (1997) — Hyacinth
• A New Brain (1998) — Nancy D./Waitress

New York City Center Encores!

• Strike up the Band (1998) — Anne Draper
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (2000) — Daisy Gamble/Melinda
• The Apple Tree (2005) — Eve/Princess Barbára/Ella/Passionella
• Stairway to Paradise (2007) — Female Star
• Music in the Air (2009) - Frieda Hatzfeld

Filmography

Films

• Topa Topa Bluffs (2002) — Patty
• Show Business (2005) (documentary) — Herself
• Bewitched (2005) — Maria Kelly
• The Pink Panther (2006) — Cherie
• RV (2006) — Mary Jo Gornicke
• Running with Scissors (2006) — Fern Stewart
• Stranger than Fiction (2006) — Darlene Sunshine
• Deck the Halls (2006) — Tia Hall
• Space Chimps (2008) (voice) — Kilowatt
• Tinker Bell (2008) (voice) — Rosetta
• Four Christmases (2008) — Courtney

Upcoming:

• Into Temptation (2009) — Linda Salerno
• Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009) (voice) — Rosetta⁴⁵
• You Again (2010) — "A wedding extraodinator"²⁸
• Rapunzel (2010) (voice) — Rapunzel
• Tinker Bell: A Midsummer Storm (2010) (voice) — Rosetta⁴⁵
• Tinker Bell: A Winter Story (2011) (voice) — Rosetta⁴⁵

Television

• Paramour (1999) (mini-series)
• Annie (1999) — Lily St. Regis
• Kristin (2001) — Kristin Yancey
• Frasier (2001) — Frasier's new agent, Portia Sanders in episode Junior Agent
• The Music Man (2003) — Marian Paroo
• Sesame Street (semi-regular cast member from 2003–) — Mr. Noodle's Sister, Ms. Noodle
• Candide (2005) (PBS Great Performances broadcast of New York Philharmonic concert version) — Cunégonde
• The West Wing (semi-regular cast member from 2004–, regular cast member from 2005–2006) — Annabeth Schott
• Ugly Betty (2007) — Diane
• Robot Chicken (2007) — Princess, Olive Oyl, Mother (voice)
• Pushing Daisies (2007–2009) — Olive Snook
• Sit Down, Shut Up (2009) — Miracle Grohe (voice)
• Legally Mad (never aired) — Skippy Pylon

Upcoming:

• Glee (2009) — April Rhodes
• Twelve Men of Christmas (2009) — E.J. Baxter

Discography

• Pushing Daisies (Original Television Soundtrack) (2008)⁴⁶
• A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (2008)
• A Place for Us: 50 Years of West Side Story with Hugh Panaro (2007)
• Just Before Sunrise with Nathan Gunn (2007)
• As I Am (2005) (solo album)
• "Disney Presents The Music Man" (2003 TV Film)
• Wicked (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2003) (Grammy Award)
• Let Yourself Go (2001) (solo album)
• "Kidults" with Mandy Patinkin (2001)
• "Our Heart Sings" (2001)
• "Grateful: The Songs of John Bucchino" (2000)
• "110 in the Shade" (1999 Studio Cast Recording) (cameo)
• You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999 Broadway Revival Cast)
• A New Brain (1998 Original Off-Broadway Cast)
• Billion Dollar Baby (1998 York Theatre Company)
• "The Most Happy Fella" (1992 Studio Cast)
• Cole Porter's You Never Know (1991 Pasadena Playhouse production)

Awards

Awards

• 1997 Theatre World Award — Steel Pier
• 1999 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• 1999 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical — You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• 2004 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Onstage Pair — Wicked (shared with Idina Menzel)
• 2005 Breakthrough Of The Year Award — Hollywood Life Magazine
• 2007 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Diva Performance — The Apple Tree
• 2008 Point Courage Award — Point Foundation

Nominations

• 2004 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical — Wicked
• 2004 Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical — Wicked
• 2005 SAG Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — The West Wing
• 2006 SAG Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — The West Wing
• 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical — The Apple Tree
• 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical — The Apple Tree
• 2007 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Actress in a Musical — The Apple Tree
• 2008 Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series — Pushing Daisies
• 2008 Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or TV Film — Pushing Daisies

References

External links

• Official website
• Official fan club website
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Movie Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at TV.com
• Review of As I Am, from the Christianity Today website
• Chenoweth interview on NY1 at YouTube
• Chenoweth interview with FHM
• TonyAwards.com Interview with Chenoweth
• Terry Gross (April 16, 2009). "Kristin Chenoweth Is 'A Little Bit Wicked'" (link to audio). Fresh Air. WHYY-FM. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103147489. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.