Idina Menzel is a Tony Award winning singer and actress who made her Broadway debut in 1995 playing the part of Maureen Johnson in the hit musical Rent. Her third solo album, I Stand, was released January 2008.

Menzel and her husband, Taye Diggs, announced her pregnancy on March 31, 2009. The couple are expecting their first child later in the year.Us Magazine: Menzel and Diggs Expecting First Child (March 31, 2009)

Born in New York City and raised with her younger sister, Menzel's parents divorced when she was fifteen. Around that time Menzel began singing at weddings and bar mitzvahs, which she would carry into her college years at New York University where she studied drama. Menzel changed her original name of Mentzel to Menzel, due to pronunciation issues while auditioning for her first big theater gig. It was in 1995 when Menzel auditioned for a show called Rent that her life would change.

When Menzel was cast in Rent it was an off-Broadway show at the New York Theater Workshop. Due to its popularity, the show found itself on Broadway at the Nederlander Theater. Menzel was nominated for a Tony for the show and moved to a variety of other roles, starring in Aida and in 2003 appeared on stage with Kristin Chenoweth in Wicked where she won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• May 30, 1960: Born New York City

• (1996) Rent (Broadway): Wikipedia | Mahalo

• (2000) The Wild Party (Broadway): Wikipedia

• (2001) Kissing Jessica Stein: IMDb

• (2001) Aida (Broadway): Wikipedia

• (2003) Wicked (Broadway): Wikipedia

• (2004) Wins Tony for Wicked

• (2005) Rent (Film Adaptation): IMDb

• Amazon.com: Idina Menzel DVDs and Music

• eBay: Idina Menzel Merchandise

• Official Site: Wicked Boutique

• BroadwayNewYork.com: Official Rent Merchandise

• Wicked Musical;Rent Musical;Broadway; Paula Profit</related>

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