Kristin Chenoweth

Chenoweth dated Academy Award winning producer/writer Aaron Benjamin Sorkin for several years.

She is a devout Christian and has also composed some songs in contemporary Christian music.

Kristi Dawn Chenoweth was adopted by Junie Smith Chenoweth and Jerry Morris Chenoweth, when she was five days old.

As a child she used to perform gospel songs and also used to act in plays in her school.

She graduated from the Broken Arrow Senior High, after which she attended the Oklahoma City University, where she earned a BFA degree in musical theatre and an MA degree in opera.

In 1991, she was the second-runner up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant and also participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which earned her scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts, but she gave up the scholarship and went to New York to act in the musical ‘Animal Crackers’ in 1993.

She made her Broadway debut in 1997 with the musical Steel Pier. Her acting skills were appreciated widely and soon she was seen in another musical ‘Strike up the Band’ in 1998.

In 1999, her performance in the musical ‘You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ earned her great appreciation and fame and she received a Tony award.

In 2001 she earned herself a role in the NBC sitcom ‘Kristin’ and also released her album ‘Let Yourself Go’.

In 2003, she starred in the Broadway musical, ‘Wicked’.

In 2004, she was invited to play the role of Annabeth Schott, a deputy press secretary for media relations in the NBC political drama ‘The West Wing’. The same year she appeared in the ‘New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s operetta ‘Candide’.

In the Broadway revival of the musical ‘You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ she played the role of ‘Sally Brown’. The musical was a huge hit, winning several nominations and awards.

In 2003, she earned immense recognition for her portrayal of ‘Glinda’ in the musical ‘Wicked’ and the musical itself bagged three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards.

She earned great fame for playing the role of Annabeth Schott in NBC sitcom ‘The West Wing’ and Olive Snook in ‘Pushing Daisies’, an ABC comedy-drama series.

In 2008, she released her studio album ‘A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas’ which reached no. 77 on the Billboard 200. This is her first album to hit the Billboard 200 and is her only best-selling album till date.