Idina Menzel (born Idina Kim Mentzel) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Born on May 30, 1971, she is originally from New York City, but grew up on Long Island.

Idina knew from a very young age that singing was what she wanted to do, and in a curious foreshadowing, she played Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" as a child. She attended Syosset High School, followed by NYU, during which time she managed to get hired as lead singer for a wedding band by lying about her age.

In 1995, she auditioned, completely on a whim, for Jonathan Larson's Rent, and got the part of Maureen Johnson. She moved with the show from Off-Broadway to Broadway, and earned herself a 1996 Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She met her husband, actor Taye Diggs, while they were performing in Rent. The two were married on January 11, 2003.

Following Rent, she originated the role of Dorothy in Summer of '42 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, starred as Sheila in the Broadway Encores! production of Hair and appeared as Princess Amneris in Aida on Broadway. She received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her role in Andrew Lippa's off-Broadway production of The Wild Party in 2000.

In 2003, Menzel starred as Elphaba Thropp in Stephen Schwartz's Wicked, based upon the Gregory Maguire novel of 1995. She earned the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

Most recently, she appeared in Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See at the Public Theater.

Menzel has appeared in the films Just a Kiss, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth, Water, Ask the Dust, and most notably, 2005's Rent, in which she and five other original cast members reprised their on-stage roles. She also made an appearance in the movie Camp. Her most recent movie role was in the Disney movie Enchanted.

Menzel performed at the 1998 Lillith Fair summer concert festival, and continues to write and perform original music. She has toured extensively and frequently performs in various venues throughout New York City. She produced and released her debut album, Still I Can't Be Still, released on Hollywood Records in 1998. Her sophomore album, Here, was released by Zel Records in 2004. Menzel has contributed to soundtracks, including those for the film The Other Sister and the ABC television dramedy Desperate Housewives.

Singer Ray Charles invited Menzel to be among an elite group of his favorite contemporary artists to duet with him on one of the tracks of Charles' album Genius and Friends. The tracks were recorded in 1998 but were never produced, and it was one of his dying wishes that the album be made, a wish which was fulfilled postumously.

Menzel has appeared on the cast recordings of Rent and Wicked, two of the best-selling cast recordings, as well as the recording of Lippa's The Wild Party and the soundtrack of the Rent film. She will also soon be heard on the cast recording of See What I Wanna See.

Menzel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She recently signed a record deal with Warner Brothers Records and will begin recording again when her run of See What I Wanna See is over.

Recently, she was voted #42 in a female-chosen equivalent of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women chart.

Recently, she reprised her part as Elphaba from September to December 2006 to kick off London's West End run of Wicked.