Idina Menzel’s turn as Rachel Berry’s mother on Glee is not one of her most memorable roles, at least according to her. The actress is known for a lot of projects, most notably Disney’s Frozen franchise and Enchanted and its sequel , as well as her many works on Broadway. She also portrayed Shelby Corcoran, the coach of New Directions’ rivals Vocal Adrenaline, and also the mother of Lea Michele’s Rachel on Fox’s hit musical dramedy Glee throughout the first four seasons.
While many fans probably liked seeing Menzel on the series and even singing a few songs as well, the Broadway star got real about her feelings during an interview with Stellar Magazine via TVLine, noting that, “You’re worried you’re not going to work again, and then people hire you to be someone’s mother when you probably should be their older sister. It just wasn’t great for the ego.”
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Not only that, but the role came at a time when Idina Menzel pretty recently had her son, Walker, “then three months later, I got the call [to be on Glee], and so I said ‘yes.’ I sucked it up, and sucked myself into my clothes, and was excited to work with [creator] Ryan Murphy and be part of that hit show.” At the time that she was cast, Menzel wasn’t even 40 yet, so playing a character who has a 15-year-old when you are still in your late 30s after welcoming your first child must have been a bit hard.
Idina Menzel did only appear in 12 episodes of Glee, but it was still a pretty memorable performance. Not only was she the coach of a rival glee club and Rachel’s mother, but she also ends up adopting Quinn’s baby. Her final episode of the series in Season 4 sees Shelby and Rachel have a heart-to-heart when Shelby gives Rachel advice about her future and Broadway, and the “dream casting” for the two was officially done.
Coincidentally, fans can watch Menzel’s wide range of acting, including on Glee, on Disney+, where Enchanted and Frozen are also streaming, with the latter two probably doing a lot more for her than Glee. Maybe she and Michele can star in another project together where they play sisters rather than mother and daughter because that would definitely still work.
