{"id":846,"date":"2020-03-30T19:47:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T19:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/?p=846"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:47:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T19:47:07","slug":"frozen-2-star-idina-menzel-talks-work-family-and-embracing-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/frozen-2-star-idina-menzel-talks-work-family-and-embracing-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Frozen 2&#8217; star Idina Menzel talks work, family and embracing every day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Tony Award winner Idina Menzel\u2019s professional career is busier than ever. She reprises her role as the voice of Elsa in Disney\u2019s &#8220;Frozen 2,&#8221;\u00a0and stars in &#8220;Uncut Gems,&#8221; a drama\/comedy, which opens Christmas Day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cAdam Sandler plays a jeweler who gets rappers and athletes all this crazy bling,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019s a gambler and an adrenaline junkie, and he makes a lot of bad decisions. I play his wife, but he also has a girlfriend. It\u2019s a two-hour crazy roller-coaster ride.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But in Los Angeles, where she lives with second husband, Aaron Lohr, and her 10-year-old son, Walker, she\u2019s often more focused on the busy, everyday details of family life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI\u2019m the basketball mom, and I need to get the jerseys made for our first game,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cOur coach left, and the new one wants a new team name. Then I have to make sure someone is picking up my son from school because I\u2019m at a photo shoot and he has practice at 3 p.m. His father (Menzel\u2019s ex-husband, actor Taye Diggs) is flying in, and I have to see if his plane is delayed. Walker is supposed to hang with Dad tonight. If not, I have to make sure someone is home to get him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Menzel should probably be exhausted, but she sounds energized. She\u2019s embracing her hectic life and knows the importance of being true to herself. \u201cI\u2019m not afraid to make mistakes because I found that mistakes endear us to other people,\u201d she says. \u201cThey make us seem human. So I try to lay it all out there and not edit myself too much and aim to be as authentic as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The singer\/songwriter\/actress also wants her days to be jam-packed because she knows what it\u2019s like not to be busy. \u201cI\u2019ve had lots of ups and downs,\u201d she says. \u201cI have to keep working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Driven to succeed<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Now 48, Menzel got her professional start in<em>\u00a0&#8220;<\/em>Rent,&#8221; a 1996 Broadway rock musical that won a Tony Award and earned Menzel her first Tony Award nomination. Her successful Broadway career has also included a 2004 Tony Award for playing Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in &#8220;Wicked.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But she really got her start at age 6. \u201cMy parents entered me in a talent show when we were staying at a resort,\u201d she says. \u201cI sang &#8216;The Way We Were,&#8217; and people said, \u2018She needs to get lessons.\u2019 I always knew in my heart that I wanted to sing and perform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Her parents, a salesman and a therapist, arranged for her to have the lessons but refused to let her be a child star. \u201cMy mom didn\u2019t believe in running me to auditions and exposing me to that kind of rejection as a little girl,\u201d she says. \u201cShe wanted me to have a regular childhood and be in school plays. I remember fighting with her and saying, \u2018I\u2019m missing out on &#8216;Annie,&#8217;\u00a0I\u2019m getting too tall. They\u2019re not going to let me be in it.\u2019 My mom stuck to her guns.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In 1993, she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in fine arts in drama at New York University\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, and she remembers how passionate she was about succeeding in her career: \u201cThe 20-year-old in me was so ambitious and worked so hard and pounded the pavement and struggled to pay the rent and wanted to get an acting job and a record deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">From 2010 to 2013, she appeared in 12 episodes of the TV show &#8220;Glee&#8221; as Shelby Corcoran, Lea Michele\u2019s character\u2019s biological mother. But what truly changed Menzel\u2019s life was voicing Elsa, the young queen who accidentally turns her kingdom into nonstop winter, in Disney\u2019s 2013 smash hit &#8220;Frozen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">She became an icon for millions of fans. Singing the Oscar-winning song &#8216;Let It Go&#8217; at the 2014 Academy Awards supercharged her career. (Ironically, her name recognition was bolstered by John Travolta fumbling her introduction, calling her Adele Dazeem.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Menzel is nothing but grateful for the movie\u2019s success. \u201c &#8216;Frozen&#8217; has only been a gift in my life,\u201d she says. \u201cIt allows me to be a role model, but it also reminds me of what I want to be in my own life. When you\u2019re a role model, you have to practice what you preach. I can stand up onstage and somehow personify confidence or self-esteem. But if I\u2019m not feeling it, if I\u2019m having a bad day myself, I need to listen to the music and the words of the character I play and remind myself, \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid to find that feeling, that thing inside, that makes me so special.\u2019 We all feel it, whether we\u2019re 12 or 48. We still need to be reminded. Every time I get onstage and sing these songs, I\u2019m connected to young people. As agonizing as it probably is for many parents because they\u2019ve heard&#8217; Let It Go&#8217; so many times, I\u2019m really grateful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">What can we expect in &#8220;Frozen 2&#8221;? \u201cThese sisters, Elsa and Anna, have unconditional love for each other and their family,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cElsa is going on this journey to find out who she is and what her purpose is. Her sister will come with her friends to help Elsa figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">It\u2019s a journey Menzel herself has taken. \u201cMy identity was always wrapped in who I was as a singer,\u201d she says. She remembers times when she was sick with laryngitis or other conditions that prevented her from singing and, \u201cAll of a sudden I had no confidence in who I was. What could I offer the world if I\u2019m not singing?\u201d She now realizes that, \u201cI\u2019m a great mom, friend, wife and daughter. I\u2019m a good actress. I don\u2019t always have to sing. We as women are so many things. We don\u2019t need to label ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Family first<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Motherhood changed Menzel\u2019s perspective. \u201cThat\u2019s when I learned to put my family first,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s actually a relief not to be the center of attention. You get to focus on this little boy who needs you. If\u00a0my son is sick the night before I have to perform and I want to snuggle next to him when he has a fever, I might get sick. I might not be able to hit the high note that day. That\u2019s a compromise I\u2019m willing to make. Then I get onstage, lower my expectations and actually hit that note even better because I took the pressure off. In this business you can be so self-absorbed. That\u2019s why you\u2019ve got to have real friends and family around you, telling you you\u2019re being a pain in the (butt). For me, being a parent really helped me get outside myself and see what was important in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Since becoming a parent, Menzel\u2019s views about celebrating the holidays have changed, too. \u201cThanksgiving was always a complicated time for me,\u201d she explains. \u201cMy parents announced on Thanksgiving morning they were separating. What were they thinking? I was 15 years old. After that, the holidays were weird for me. Which parent was I going to be with? It caused a lot of stress. It wasn\u2019t until I had my son that I could really create my own joyful time.\u00a0My husband, Aaron, has this huge extended family. It really helps me keep in touch with everyone and bring them together over the holidays. Before then, I shied away from the memories from my past. Now I\u2019m the one who does the Christmas tree. I collect ornaments throughout the year on my travels. It\u2019s a very eclectic tree that really embodies what we are as a family. Even though I\u2019m a Jewish girl, I grew up being envious of Christmas. My husband celebrates Christmas, so now I get to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Menzel recently passed a holiday milestone. \u201cTwo days ago, Walker asked me to look him in the eye and tell him the truth,\u201d she says. \u201cHe wanted to know, \u2018Is Santa real or not?\u2019 Some kids were saying some stuff at school, and I had to come clean on that because I don\u2019t lie to my kid. It was really a bittersweet moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img gnt_em_img__inset\"><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Figuring it out<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Menzel shares parenting responsibilities with ex-husband Diggs. They divorced in 2014 after 11 years of marriage. In 2017, Menzel married Lohr, a former actor and now a mental health therapist. They met while working together on the 2005 film version of Rent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cWe\u2019re still figuring it out,\u201d Menzel says about co-parenting, \u201cbut I think we\u2019re doing pretty well. We all get along. Someone has Christmas Eve and someone has Christmas Day. We\u2019re all going to have some tumult. Parents divorcing is the one (Walker) has, and that\u2019s what I had. I never wanted that for him. But I know it\u2019s more important that our children see us as strong, happy, satisfied, fulfilled women. That\u2019s more of a gift to show him the kind of woman he\u2019ll want to be with when he\u2019s older.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">It\u2019s still a challenging road for Menzel personally and professionally, but she\u2019s learning to embrace it all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cAs an actor, you\u2019re always pushing yourself to keep trying things that challenge you,\u201d she says. \u201cDeep down I feel good about where I am. I have my family and people around me that love and support me. That little 12-year-old who went to see<em>\u00a0&#8216;<\/em>Annie&#8217; and &#8216;Dreamgirls&#8217; with her parents at Christmastime had a dream of being on Broadway and using her voice to connect with people. That came true. I need to take that in and enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tony Award winner Idina Menzel\u2019s professional career is busier than ever. She reprises her role as the voice of Elsa in Disney\u2019s &#8220;Frozen 2,&#8221;\u00a0and stars in &#8220;Uncut Gems,&#8221; a drama\/comedy, which opens Christmas Day. \u201cAdam Sandler plays a jeweler who gets rappers and athletes all this crazy bling,\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[56,53,54],"class_list":["post-846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-56","tag-frozen-2","tag-uncut-gems"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/ae28e620-6a5a-4319-87ca-d61ed0657e1b-MODERNWOMAN_PRESTO_COVER.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Srnq-dE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846\/revisions\/848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}