Kristin Chenoweth is an actress and singer who made her mark on Broadway - belting her signature tune "
Popular" in Wicked - before pursuing roles in TV and film. Just two years after she made her Broadway debut in the 1997 musical
Steel Pier, Chenoweth earned her first Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Sally Brown, Charlie Brown's little sister, in a revival of
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. She was nominated again in 2003 for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch in
Wicked (the same part Ariana Grande went on to play in the 2024 film adaptation).
While she continued a successful career on the stage, she began building her filmography with gigs on TV series like
The West Wing, as media consultant Annabeth Schott, and
Pushing Daisies as singing waitress Olive Snook. The latter role garnered her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. That same year, she started her recurring role as high school dropout April Rhodes on
Glee.
Aside from appearing in movies like
Bewitched (2005),
The Pink Panther (2006), and
RV (2006), Chenoweth gave a nod to her
Wicked origins with a cameo as one of the Emerald City Players in the film version.
Born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Chenoweth was adopted by Jerry and Junie Chenoweth when she was five days old. If she'd followed in the footsteps of her adoptive parents, she'd have become a chemical engineer but, as it turned out, she had some music in her blood. Chenoweth learned her biological father was Billy Ethridge, a bassist who played with ZZ Top and The Chessmen. When she appeared on the genealogy series Finding Your Roots in 2026, the Wicked alum was shocked to learn that her bio dad, who died in 2015, once walked the Yellow Brick Road, having played in a stage production of The Wizard Of Oz in his youth. The singer was also able to connect with her biological mother, Lynn, in 2012 and they forged a close relationship until Lynn's death in 2023.
Chenoweth grew up in a religious household and started singing gospel songs in various churches as a child. By the age of 12, she was touring on the Baptist circuit around the country. At the Southern Baptist Convention national conference, she sang Evie's "Four Feet Eleven" - which also happens to be the petite performer's full-grown height.
Chenoweth's Christian faith has been polarizing at times. She identifies as a "non-judgmental, liberal Christian" who supports gay rights, but her method of announcing her beliefs managed to anger both sides of her fan base. Her gay fans were upset when she chose to promote her 2005 CCM album, As I Am, on the religious talk show The 700 Club, whose controversial host, Pat Robertson, routinely blamed the world's problems on the LGBTQ community. Her Christian fans were also outraged by the interview and her claim that Jesus would be accepting and loving towards gay people. Her pro-gay stance got her ousted as spokeswoman of the Women of Faith conference that year.
Chenoweth has also lent her unique voice, which has been compared to the high-pitched voice of the classic cartoon character Betty Boop, to animated projects like the TV series BoJack Horseman and American Dad! and the films The Peanuts Movie (2015), Strange Magic (2015), and Rio 2 (2014).
As a classically trained high coloratura soprano, Chenoweth's impressive vocal range spans three to four octaves, from E3 to F6. She studied under renowned voice instructor Florence Birdwell at Oklahoma City University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in musical theater in 1990 and a master's degree in opera performance in 1992. Ultimately, she chose the theater after spending a summer in a stage revue at Opryland in Nashville.
Chenoweth was the star of her own short-lived sitcom, Kristin, in 2001. She played an Oklahoma transplant trying to break into show business in New York City while working as a secretary. Chenoweth also sang the show's theme song, "Hold On To Who You Are."
Chenoweth's 2001 debut album, Let Yourself Go, features Jason Alexander, who famously starred as the terminally frustrated George Costanza on Seinfeld. While TV fans might think they make an odd pair, Alexander and Chenoweth are perfectly matched as they're both celebrated Broadway performers. The vocal pop/jazz album includes their collaboration, "Hangin' Around With You."
Chenoweth has long been haunted by the 1977 Oklahoma Girl Scout murders, which occurred during a camping trip that the then-8-year-old singer was too sick to attend. Three girls, ages 10 and under, were found raped and murdered after being abducted from their campsite. In 2022, Chenoweth hosted the ABC documentary series Keeper Of The Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders upon the 45th anniversary of the unsolved crime.
In 2023, Chenoweth married Josh Bryant, who plays guitar in the country band Backroad Anthem. The couple first met in 2016 when Bryant's band performed at Chenoweth's niece's wedding but they didn't begin dating until they reunited at her nephew's wedding two years later. Chenoweth, who is 15 years older than Bryant, was amused when he said, "I'd like to court you," but the old-fashioned line worked. Their first date was at a Waffle House after one of her concerts.
Chenoweth had a recurring role as political reporter Peggy Byrne on The Good Wife for the show's fourth season in 2012 but was forced to quit after being seriously injured on set. She was struck in the head and knocked down by a falling piece of lighting equipment, which left her with a skull fracture, a broken nose, and a cracked rib, among other injuries. She decided not to pursue charges against CBS, which she regrets because the incident caused long-term physical and mental issues.
Long before Ariana Grande took over the role of Glinda in the
Wicked movie, the 7-year-old singer saw the Broadway production and got to meet Chenoweth backstage. They reunited for the 2016 TV musical
Hairspray Live! and collaborated on Chenoweth's 2019
For The Girls album for a duet of Lesley Gore's "
You Don't Own Me." In 2021, Chenoweth also served as a mentor for Grande's team on
The Voice.
