Idina Menzel's Real Name: Idina Menzel

Quick answer: The actress and singer is known professionally as Idina Menzel. Britannica gives the fuller name Idina Kim Mentzel and, with Playbill, places the birth on May 30, 1971. The two sources differ on the exact birthplace.

Real name and early life

Britannica identifies her as Idina Menzel, also known as Idina Kim Mentzel, and places the birth on May 30, 1971, in New York City, New York. Playbill independently gives the same birth date but places the birth in Syosset, New York. Britannica says she grew up primarily on Long Island in Syosset, New York, attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1992 with a B.F.A. in drama, and changed the spelling of her surname to make it easier for people to pronounce as she began a singing career. Playbill does not record the Mentzel spelling.

Career highlights

Britannica says she originated the role of Maureen in the Broadway musical Rent in 1996 and earned a Tony Award nomination for the performance, later appearing in the 2005 film adaptation. Playbill independently lists her as the original Maureen Johnson in Rent, which opened April 29, 1996, and records a 1996 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Britannica says she was later cast as Elphaba in Wicked in 2003, originating the role alongside Kristin Chenoweth's Glinda, and that her performance in the original Broadway production earned the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2004. Playbill independently lists her as the original Elphaba in Wicked, which opened October 30, 2003, and records the 2004 Tony win. Britannica says she returned to Broadway in 2014 in If/Then and received a third Tony nomination for the role of Elizabeth; Playbill independently lists her as the original Elizabeth in If/Then, which opened March 30, 2014, and records the 2014 Tony nomination. Britannica says she provided the voice of Queen Elsa in the Disney films Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019), and that "Let It Go," from the first film, reached number 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 and won the 2014 Oscar for best original song and the 2014 Grammy for best song written for visual media. Playbill later lists her as Jesse in Redwood, which opened February 13, 2025.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Idina Menzel or Idina Kim Mentzel are looking for the same actress and singer, including the later Wicked and Frozen work most often associated with her name.