Idina Menzel: crying at ET, driving illegally and voicing Frozen’s Elsa

The actress and musician on the culture that made her

 

First paid gig
For a wedding when I was 15. I drove illegally to the catering hall in my parents’ 1985 silver Cordoba. The band leader gave me a chance and I remember singing the theme song from the movie Ice Castles. I got paid $100 — I couldn’t believe I was earning my own money from singing.

First ‘wake-up call’
There was a young girl who never liked me. She liked to sing as well but wasn’t getting the same attention as me. The more compliments I received the more she hated me. I was always torn between my love for singing and the bullying I would endure when I chose to be seen.

First book I read
The Diary of Anne Frank was the first book that made an impact on me. At an early age my parents would talk about the Holocaust, wanting me to have an understanding of the Jewish experience. As a parent I often wrestle with what age is appropriate for children to be exposed to the hatred in the world. When do I protect my son’s innocence? When do I have the real conversations?

First album I bought
The soundtrack to A Star Is Born from the 1976 movie starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. I was eight and my grandmother took me to see it. I remember holding the album cover in my hands while sitting on my living-room floor. I played it over and over in awe of Streisand’s voice, how effortless it was.

First concert I went to
My parents took me to see Diana Ross at Westbury Music Fair on Long Island, where I grew up. It was an intimate venue; I was so close to her and she was so beautiful. She changed her outfit at least 15 times.

First pop-inspired fashion trend I adopted
A Molly Ringwald-inspired asymmetric haircut when I was 13. That was a bad year because I was so awkward. I made up for it a year later when I grew my hair out long and curly and parted it by my ear so it swept 6in above my forehead using a hairspray called Stiff Stuff.

First time I cried at the cinema
ET. When Elliott and ET were in that plastic tent being prodded and experimented on. ET was growing greyer and greyer by the minute.

First moment I knew I loved singing
I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. I do recall the first time I sang in front of a group of people. It was a talent show at a resort in the Catskills, upstate New York, when I was six. I sang The Way We Were. I remember feeling transported. I had this sense, this realisation that I had something special and maybe one day I would share it with the world. That’s what happened with Frozen and Let It Go.

First time I felt overwhelmed by fame
There are days when I’ve been sick — laryngitis, sinus infection — with high-pressure concerts to perform, holding my infant son and heading to the doctor. One time I had no make-up on, my hair was matted and, unbeknown to me, my shirt was on inside out, and I walked into a swarm of paparazzi. Those are days when I’ve been overwhelmed. The rest of the time I would say I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. I remind myself that my dreams have come true.

First time I realised that I’d made it
The days of Rent on Broadway, for which I was nominated for a Tony. Every night after the show we would walk out of the stage door to a sea of adoring fans, who would descend on us for pictures and autographs. I landed a record deal for more money than I had ever seen in my life. I was able to pay my rent.