Kristin Chenoweth
Chenoweth at the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards
Born	Kristi Dawn Chenoweth July 24, 1968 (1968-07-24) (age 41) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, United States
Occupation	Actress, singer, author
Years active	1991–present
Official website

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968)¹ is an American singer, musical theatre, film, and television actress, and 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 role as Glinda in Broadway's Wicked, and her role as Annabeth Schott in television's The West Wing. She was a cast member on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies; her portrayal of Olive Snook on that show was recognized with a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award.²

Early life

Adopted at birth, Kristi Dawn Chenoweth grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Her lineage includes one-quarter Cherokee ancestry.³ 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 approximately 40,000 delegates.⁴⁵

After graduating from Broken Arrow Senior High, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) sorority.^{citation needed} She earned a degree in musical theatre and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under voice instructor Florence Birdwell, who has also trained Miss America 1981 Susan Powell and three-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara.^{citation needed} 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.^{citation needed} 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 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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.^{citation needed} 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 the spring of 1997 in 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.

In early 1999, 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. The performance won Chenoweth the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards as the season's Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She then starred on Broadway in the short lived musical-comedy Epic Proportions, followed by starring in the leading role of Daisy Gamble in the City Center Encores production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.^{citation needed}

In 2003, Chenoweth performed songs from her album Let Yourself Go in concert for Lincoln Center's 5th American Songbook.^{citation needed} 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, in the joint-leading role of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. She was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance, losing to her co-star Idina Menzel (playing Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West). She was additionally nominated for the Drama Desk Award and the Drama League Award. After playing Glinda for nine months Chenoweth left Wicked on 18 July 2004 along with co-stars Joel Grey and Norbert Leo Butz.^{citation needed}

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.^{citation needed}

From December 2006 to March 2007, Chenoweth starred on Broadway in a production of The Apple Tree and received rave reviews for her performance. She received nominations for the Drama Desk Award and the Drama League Award. Her co-stars included Brian d'Arcy James and former fiancé Marc Kudisch. 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 that location, following Barbara Cook and Yves Montand.⁷ Chenoweth additionally hosted that years Drama Desk Awards ceremony.

Chenoweth played Elizabeth in the pre-Broadway workshop in Mel Brooks's Broadway adaptation of his film Young Frankenstein, however, due to other 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 at the last minute.

She appeared in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Music in the Air for its short semi-staged running from February 5–8, 2009.⁸ 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.⁹ 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.¹⁰

Chenoweth will play Fran Kubelik in the Broadway revival of the musical Promises, Promises. She will play opposite Sean Hayes and the production is scheduled to open April 2010.¹¹

Television work

After a guest appearance on LateLine and several roles in some television films such as Annie, Chenoweth was given her own NBC sitcom entitled Kristin. It was quite short-lived with thirteen episodes filmed, but only six episodes that were aired.^{citation needed}

Throughout the mid-2000s, Chenoweth appeared on several television programs and several motion pictures made for television, in particular a starring role in the Emmy Award nominated television film The Music Man.

In 2004, Chenoweth landed a role playing media consultant Annabeth Schott in The West Wing. For her performance she was nominated twice along with the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She appeared in the final two seasons of the program.

From 2007 to 2009, Chenoweth played Olive Snook in the television series Pushing Daisies. For her performance she received great critical acclaim and in 2009 she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series was cancelled after two seasons.

In 2009, Chenoweth lent her voice to the animation comedy series Sit Down Shut Up. She voiced the role of Miracle Grohe who was a science teacher who didn't believe in science. The series lasted just thirteen episodes. Later that year Chenoweth guest starred as April Rhodes in Glee. She received a Satellite Award for Outstanding Guest Star.

Filmography

Chenoweth made her film debut in the film Topa Topa Buffs in 2002 playing the role of Patty. After several years away from film she returned to the big screen in the 2005 film version of Bewitched, directed by Nora Ephron. 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.^{citation needed} Chenoweth got the part of Maria Kelly, Kidman's character's best friend.

In 2006, she appeared in five films: The Pink Panther, RV, Stranger Than Fiction, Running with Scissors and Deck the Halls.

On February 24, 2008, Chenoweth sang "That's How You Know" from the film Enchanted¹² at the 80th Academy Awards in the Kodak Theater. She also voiced Rosetta, the garden fairy in the 2008 animated film Tinker Bell. Later that year, Chenoweth appeared in the 2008 holiday romantic comedy film Four Christmases, playing the sister of Reese Witherspoon's character.¹³

In 2009, Chenoweth starred as a "suicidal prostitute" in the indie drama Into Temptation under writer-director Patrick Coyle. The film was screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival and since then has been released on DVD.¹⁴ Also in 2009 Chenoweth reprised her voice role of Rosetta in Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and she recently completed filming for the Disney comedy film You Again.

Chenoweth has been cast as the China Doll Princess in the CGI 2011 animated film Dorothy Of Oz. Lea Michele and Kelsey Grammer are also set to appear in the film.¹⁵

Chenoweth hosted the 15th Annual Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards which aired January 15, 2010 on VH1.¹⁶

Internet

On August 27, 2008, Chenoweth released a video with Funny or Die titled Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth.¹⁷ 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.¹⁷ The video was shot in five hours in a room of a Hilton Hotel.¹⁸ Chenoweth admitted that she was hesitant about performing the lyrics.¹⁸

Recording career

Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice, one she has compared to that of Betty Boop.¹⁹ She is a classically trained coloratura soprano, and well known for her skilled singing technique and artistic interpretations. She has a vocal range of four octaves.²⁰ Chenoweth is able to sing the note "F6" (1396.913 Hz), also known as "F above High C".²¹

Chenoweth released her debut album Let Yourself Go in 2001 which was a collection of jazz standards from the musicals of the 1930s. One of the tracks featured a duet with Jason Alexander. In 2004, she released her second album As I Am, which was a Christian music album containing various spiritual songs. The album peaked at number 31 on the US Christian Albums Chart.

In 2008, Chenoweth released her third studio album entitled A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. The album was much anticipated by both her fans and Chenoweth herself; she had expressed her desire in the past to produce a Christmas album. The album included a duet with John Pizzarelli and there were several modern holiday tunes, but many traditional carols as well including a stirring rendition of The Lord's Prayer. Unlike her first two albums it made quite an impact on the charts reaching number 77 on the US Billboard Albums Chart, climbing to number 7 on the US Holiday Albums chart and to number 1 on the US Heatseekers Chart.

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.²²

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 2007.²³²⁴

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.²⁵

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.²⁶

On December 15, 16 and 17 in New York City and December 18 in Boston; Kristin sang with Il Divo as part of Il Divo's Christmas Tour 2009.²⁷²⁸

Personal life

Chenoweth has written a memoir about her life, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages,²⁹ 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".³⁰ The book was released on April 14, 2009.³¹ The book spent two weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Chenoweth has spoken publicly about her faith; she describes herself as a "non-judgmental, liberal Christian".³² 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.^{citation needed}

Chenoweth also has a large gay fanbase, and was uninvited from a Women of Faith conference in September 2005³³³⁴ due, according to a statement on Chenoweth's website, "to her publicized and heartfelt beliefs that God is accepting of all people on earth, including homosexuals."^{citation needed}

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.³⁵ 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.³⁶

She has dated and remains close friends with producer/writer Aaron Sorkin.^{citation needed} 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 of Chenoweth and Sorkin;³⁷ 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.³⁸

Chenoweth was awarded an honorary doctorate in Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on May 30, 2009, where she was the commencement speaker.^{citation needed}

Credits

Theatre

Filmography

Discography

Awards

• 1997 Theater World Award
• 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award - Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
• 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
• 1999 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
• 2005 Breakthrough Of The Year Award from Hollywood Life Magazine
• 2008 Point Courage Award — Point Foundation
• 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series "Pushing Daisies"
• 2009 Satellite Award — Outstanding Guest Star "Glee"

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kristin Chenoweth

• Official website
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Movie Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at TV.com
• FHM interview
• TonyAwards.com Interview
• Excerpt from A Little Bit Wicked