| Adena Mentzel was born on May 30th, 1971, in Long Island, New York. She changed her name over the years to Idina Menzel because no one could pronounce it right. Idina, her younger sister Cara, and her parents Stuart and Helene moved from Queens to New Jersey and back to Long Island by the time Idina was in second grade.Singing was clearly in her blood, as she was singing from the tender age of 5. One day, she started harmonizing without ever having learned how to do so, and her teachers encouraged her to hone her skills.At the age of 8, she was taken under the wing of a voice teacher. She then started performing in school productions such as The Wizard of Oz and The Pirates of Penzance. By the mid-'80s, she moved up to Syosset High School, and although she was still studying classical music, she found herself more inspired by R&B singers like Aretha Franklin, Chaka Kahn and Etta James. |
