Theatre and celebrity models in the 2007 Red Dress Collection Celebrity Fashion Show to raise awareness of heart disease After
Animal Crackers, Chenoweth continued to appear in
regional theatre productions, such as
Babes in Arms at
The Guthrie Theater in
Minneapolis, and
Phantom (as Christine; she also toured in Germany in this role), playing roles in
Off-Broadway productions like Luisa in
The Fantasticks and Kristy in
Box Office of the Damned (both in 1994). In 1997, she appeared as Hyacinth in the
Roundabout Theater Company production of
Moliere's farcical
Scapin, earning her first
New York Times review, with
Ben Brantley writing "Kristin Chenoweth's sob-prone ingenue is delightful". She made her
Broadway debut in the spring of 1997 as Precious McGuire in the musical
Steel Pier by
Kander and Ebb, for which she won a
Theatre World Award. in the
City Center Encores! staged concert of the
George and
Ira Gershwin musical
Strike Up the Band and created roles in the original
Lincoln Center Theater production of
William Finn's
A New Brain.
Ben Rimalower, in
Playbill, wrote: "It's unlikely anyone will equal Kristin Chenoweth in the role of 'Nancy D., the waitress.'" Chenoweth played
Sally Brown, the title character's little sister, in the 1999 Broadway revival of ''
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Sally was not present in the original production. Chenoweth won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance. Later that year, she starred on Broadway in the short-lived comic play Epic Proportions, followed by starring as Daisy Gamble in the Encores! production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' in . After this, Chenoweth split her time between stage and TV or film roles and released her first solo album,
Let Yourself Go (2001). In 2002, she performed in the City Center Encores!
10th Anniversary Bash. In October 2003, she returned to Broadway (after the San Francisco tryout) in the musical
Wicked, as
Glinda the Good Witch. She was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award as
Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance; her co-star
Idina Menzel (who played
Elphaba, the
Wicked Witch of the West) won the award. Chenoweth was also nominated for the
Drama Desk Award and the
Drama League Award for this role. Ben Rimalower, in
Playbill, wrote that, for Glinda, "the gold standard was unquestionably and indelibly set" by Chenoweth's performances. soon joining the cast of
The West Wing in Los Angeles. Chenoweth played
Cunegonde in the
New York Philharmonic revival of
Candide, directed by
Lonny Price, in . The production was also broadcast on
PBS's
Great Performances. A performance of the rarely sung duet "We Are Women", between Cunegonde and the Old Lady (played by
Patti Lupone), was included in the production. From December 2006 to March 2007, following a 2005 Encores! presentation of the piece, Chenoweth starred on Broadway as Eve in a revival of
The Apple Tree with co-stars
Brian d'Arcy James and former fiancé
Marc Kudisch. She received nominations for the
Drama Desk Award and the
Drama League Award. She hosted the 2007
Drama Desk Awards ceremony. and returned for her fifth Encores! production in
Jerome Kern and
Oscar Hammerstein II's
Music in the Air in 2009. Chenoweth was scheduled to return to The Metropolitan Opera in 2010 to play Samira in
John Corigliano's opera
The Ghosts of Versailles. The Met canceled the expensive production in 2008 as the U.S. economy weakened. In 2009, Chenoweth was part of the rotating ensemble cast of
Nora and
Delia Ephron's
Love, Loss, and What I Wore off-Broadway at the
Westside Theater. She next starred as Fran Kubelik in the 2010 Broadway revival of the musical
Promises, Promises, opposite
Sean Hayes, which opened on , 2010. The songs "
I Say a Little Prayer" and "
A House Is Not a Home" were added for her to sing. Chenoweth and Hayes remained in the cast until the show closed on January 2, 2011, although she missed performances from December 29, 2010, to January 1, 2011, to perform a New Year's Eve concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall on December 31, 2010. She played televangelist
Tammy Faye Bakker in a reading of the musical
Rise in 2011. Chenoweth played Lily Garland in a Broadway revival of
On the Twentieth Century, opposite
Peter Gallagher, which began previews on February 12 and opened on March 12, 2015, for a 22-week limited engagement through July 19, 2015, at the
Roundabout Theatre Company.
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times wrote that Chenoweth "uses [her character's] histrionics to create one of the most virtuosic portraits in song ever on Broadway. The vocal vocabulary she deploys here ranges from jazz-baby brass to operatic silver, often in a single number, and she switches among them with jaw-dropping ease. And every perfectly weighted note is set off by an impeccably exaggerated gesture." She was nominated for a Tony Award and won another Drama Desk Award for her performance. In November 2023, Chenoweth made a cameo appearance in
Gutenberg! The Musical! as The Producer She co-produced and stars as the title character,
Jackie Siegel, in the musical
The Queen of Versailles, with music and lyrics by
Stephen Schwartz, which premiered at
Colonial Theatre in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 2024, and began performances at Broadway's
St. James Theatre in October 2025.
Television After a guest appearance on
LateLine, a role in the short-lived television series
Paramour (1999), and several roles in
television films such as
Annie (as Lily St. Regis), Chenoweth starred in her own
NBC sitcom, the semi-autobiographical
Kristin in 2001. Thirteen episodes were filmed, but only six aired before it was canceled. Chenoweth appeared in the lead role of Marian in the 2003 television film,
The Music Man, opposite
Matthew Broderick. She also guest-starred on such shows as
Frasier (2001),
Baby Bob (2002),
Fillmore! (2003), ''
Elmo's World and Sesame Street (several times as Mrs. Noodle) and Ugly Betty'' (2007). In 2004, Chenoweth began playing the recurring role of media consultant
Annabeth Schott in
The West Wing. Another of Chenoweth's Christmas-themed TV films was
12 Men of Christmas (2009); though it received lukewarm reviews, a
Variety review praised Chenoweth, saying "with the right talent, it's possible to make even the moldiest of material sing just a little". Benefit Gala From 2007 to 2009, Chenoweth played
Olive Snook in the television series,
Pushing Daisies. For her performance, she "became a favorite for her musical numbers and bright personality" winning in 2009 as
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series was canceled after two seasons. She received a
Satellite Award for Outstanding Guest Star. In 2010, Chenoweth returned to
Glee as April Rhodes, singing more songs. The
Los Angeles Times review commented, "the best part about '
Home' was undoubtedly the return of Kristin Chenoweth as April. From her spunky duet of
Fire with Schue, to the heart-achingly lonely coo of '
One Less Bell to Answer' which segued into a fantastic reprise of '
A House Is Not a Home' and of course her bone-chilling take on
Home I fell in love with her again." She was nominated for both 2010 and 2011 Emmy Awards for her performances on
Glee. Chenoweth returned again to
Glee in "
Rumours" in 2011, and for its 100th episode in 2014. In 2011, Chenoweth starred in a pilot for
ABC called
Good Christian Bitches as Carlene Cockburn. ABC picked up the show and changed the title to
GCB. The series debuted in 2012 but lasted only one season, despite "the cast's comedic wit and strong performances"; In 2012, she guest-starred in an episode of the sitcom
Hot in Cleveland, titled "
The Gateway Friend". However, she soon left the show after sustaining a skull fracture, broken nose, spinal and rib injuries and cracked teeth when she was struck by equipment on the set. and returned in a short scene for another episode. She later expressed regret at not pursuing legal action for her injuries, which she said caused her to endure "hundreds of doctor appointments", "head-to-toe pain on a daily basis", anxiety and depression. In 2013 and 2014, she made two appearances as Brittany Gold on the TV series,
Kirstie. From 2014 to 2019 she appeared in five episodes of the animated series
BoJack Horseman. Chenoweth played
Maleficent in the live-action
Disney Channel original movie,
Descendants (2015). The
Entertainment Weekly reviewer said that "Chenoweth stole much of the show". It drew the largest cable TV movie audience of 2015 to that date. later that year, Chenoweth appeared in an episode of
I Get That a Lot, posing as a waitress, and co-hosted the
69th Tony Awards, for which she was nominated for another Emmy Award. Chenoweth played Velma Von Tussle in NBC's
Hairspray Live! in 2016. In 2017, Chenoweth played the role of
Easter in the
Starz TV series
American Gods and guested on
Younger In 2018, a guest spot on
Mom was followed by the main cast role, on
Trial & Error, of Lavinia Peck-Foster, an eccentric heiress accused of her husband's murder, who hires Josh Segal and Associates to defend her. She participated in a 2018 NBC broadcast,
A Very Wicked Halloween, hosting and singing
Popular and other numbers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of
Wicked on Broadway. The same year, she appeared as a guest on another NBC special,
Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas. The next year, Chenoweth made another Christmas TV movie,
A Christmas Love Story. The same year, she appeared on British TV as a judge on an ITV special "All Star Musicals", where she and
Elaine Paige performed the song "
I Know Him So Well" together. Chenoweth hosted a six-episode
Food Network television competition show, derived from the game
Candy Land, in 2020–2021. In 2021, PBS aired a
Wicked concert special, hosted by Chenoweth and Menzel, with "a starry line-up" of singers and actors performing the musical numbers. She also appeared as the villainous Mildred Layton in the
Apple TV+ parody musical comedy television series
Schmigadoon! for which she was nominated for the 2022
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. and a
Hollywood Critics Association TV Award. Later that year, she joined
The Voice, season 21 as advisor to
Ariana Grande's team. She returned in 2023 for season 2 of
Schmigadoon!, this time as Miss Codwell, owner of an orphanage, receiving another Hollywood Critics Association TV Award nomination.
Film Chenoweth made her theatrical film debut in
Topa Topa Bluffs in 2002 playing Patty. After a few years away from film, she returned to the big screen in the 2005 film version of
Bewitched, directed by
Nora Ephron, as Maria Kelly. In 2006, Chenoweth played supporting roles in five films,
The Pink Panther,
RV, In animated films, she voiced "a little charmer" called Kilowatt in
Space Chimps and another role, Rosetta the garden fairy, in
Tinker Bell (both 2008). Also in 2009, Chenoweth reprised her voice role of Rosetta in
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, and filmed the Disney comedy
You Again (released in 2010). She was called "memorable" in the supporting role of Debra in the 2012 action comedy
Hit and Run. Chenoweth next voiced Gabi, a poisonous frog, in the 2014 animated film,
Rio 2, and starred as Mrs. Kemp in
The Opposite Sex (2014). In 2015, she appeared in the thriller
The Boy Next Door and voiced the Sugar Plum Fairy in
Strange Magic and
Fifi,
Snoopy's love interest, in
The Peanuts Movie. The next year she played Lorna Buchanan in
Hard Sell. In 2017, she played Janet Krauss in
Class Rank and voiced Princess Skystar in the 2017 animated
My Little Pony: The Movie, and Abby the Mouse in
The Star. Chenoweth headlined the
Hallmark Channel's 2019 Countdown to Christmas with film
A Christmas Love Story. She voiced another mouse, Daisy, in
The Witches (2020) and played Bailey in
National Champions (2021). She was Aunt Susan in
Holidate (2020) and had cameos in the 2022 film
Bros as herself, and in the
2024 film version of Wicked as a "Wiz-O-Mania" Superstar (together with Menzel), performing in the
Emerald City. Chenoweth and
Lindsay Lohan star in the romantic comedy
Our Little Secret on
Netflix, released in November 2024. She sings the end credits song, "Live Like That," in the 2025 animated film,
The King of Kings.
Other media Chenoweth often appeared on
A Prairie Home Companion. On August 27, 2008, Chenoweth released an internet video with
Funny or Die called
Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth. The video parodied
A&E's show
Intervention, with Chenoweth starring as a singing, dancing interventionist. The song in the video was composed by
Andrew Lippa, with lyrics by Amy Rhodes, who also wrote the script for the video. In 2010, she appeared in a three-minute video short for
Glamour Magazine titled "iPad or Bust". She posed for the cover and a photo spread in the March 2006 edition of
FHM magazine. In 2011, Chenoweth released her first televised music video on
Country Music Television, directed by
Roman White, for her song "
I Want Somebody". The video for the single peaked at #19 on
CMT's Top 20 Countdown. In 2022, Chenoweth dipped into journalism in the mini-series
Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders on
Hulu. In the special, she investigates the
1977 murders of three girls at a
Girl Scout camp that the young Chenoweth had been unable to attend that year due to illness. The same year, she published her first picture book,
What Will I Do for My Love Today? Recordings and concerts Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice, one she has compared to that of
Betty Boop. She is a classically trained
coloratura soprano, able to sing the note "F6" (also known as F above High C). Among other early recordings, Chenoweth participated in a studio cast recording of
The Most Happy Fella in 1992. She was also in the cast recordings of
A New Brain (1998) and ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
(1999) and a studio cast recording of 110 in the Shade (1999). In 2000, she was featured on the album Grateful: The Songs of
John Bucchino. The next year, with Mandy Patinkin, she was featured on the album titled "Kidults". Ben Rimalower, in Playbill
, praised the album as "a joyous affair". The same year, she was featured in songs with Nathan Gunn on an album titled Just Before Sunrise
. The next year, she released her third solo studio album, titled A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. The album included a duet with John Pizzarelli, and there are several modern holiday tunes, but many traditional carols as well, including The Lord's Prayer. This album has been her best-seller, reaching number 77 on the U.S. Billboard Albums Chart, number 7 on the U.S. Holiday Albums chart and number 1 on the U.S. Heatseekers chart. Ben Rimalower, in Playbill'', observed that the album "proved an ideal showcase for [Chenoweth's] many gifts". In August 2010, during her nights off from
Promises, Promises, Chenoweth recorded her fourth album, a
country-pop CD titled
Some Lessons Learned. Released on September 13, 2011, the album contains songs by
Diane Warren,
Dolly Parton and
Lady Antebellum's
Hillary Scott, among others. Chenoweth co-wrote two of the songs. In advance of the album, Chenoweth released the song "
I Want Somebody (Bitch About)". Ben Rimalower, writing in
Playbill, thought that the album "may be Chenoweth's most accomplished". "
Jesus Take the Wheel", "
Prayer of St. Francis" (which was also on
Some Lessons Learned) and "
This Little Light of Mine". Chenoweth conducted her first
U.S. concert tour in the summer of 2012. The reviewer for BroadwayWorld.com wrote: "Kristin shines on stage." Less than four months after her July 2012 injury on the set of
The Good Wife, Chenoweth returned to the concert stage for a short series of dates in California, where she performed "a sagely programmed 90-minute set, which merged pop, Broadway, gospel and country with perky, unforced-feeling remarks. Chenoweth's range, timbre and versatility are in peak form, with astonishing top notes, equalized registers and a delicious ability to variegate attack from number to number." In 2013, Chenoweth performed at the
Sydney Opera House as part of an Australian concert tour. In 2014, Chenoweth returned to Carnegie Hall with an autobiographical concert,
The Evolution of a Soprano, where she sang "as good a rendition of 'Much More' as we're ever likely to hear". She joined
Andrew Lippa in his
oratorio I Am Harvey Milk at
Avery Fisher Hall on October 6, 2014. In 2014, Chenoweth released an album titled
Coming Home. The album charted at No. 48 on the Billboard 200 chart. Her
Coming Home Tour continued into 2017. Chenoweth released her next album,
The Art of Elegance, in 2016, which debuted at No. 36 on the
Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. One of the songs on the album, "
I'm a Fool to Want You", was nominated for a
Grammy Award for its arrangements. She gave a series of concerts at Broadway's
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, titled
My Love Letter to Broadway, in 2016. In 2017, she gave a concert at the
London Palladium, where she "put on a spectacular show and simultaneously formed a heartfelt connection with her fans." Chenoweth released the album
For the Girls on September 27, 2019, which features covers of songs by female performers from various genres that have influenced her. She collaborated with
Dolly Parton,
Reba McEntire,
Jennifer Hudson and
Ariana Grande on the album. In support of the album, she presented a concert series titled
Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls at the
Nederlander Theatre from November 8 to 17, 2019. She released a second holiday album,
Happiness Is Christmas, in October 2021, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera House with a new program,
Christmas at the Met, on December 13, 2021, to promote the album. ==Special events and appearances==