Idina Menzel has admitted her ego took a knock when she was cast to play Lea Michele's mother on "Glee."
With just a 15-year age gap between the two actors, Menzel had reservations about taking on the role of Shelby Corcoran.
"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," she told Irish magazine Stellar, according to the New York Post.
"It just wasn’t great for the ego. But I sucked it up and sucked myself into my clothes, and was excited to work with [creator] Ryan Murphy and be a part of that hit show."
Menzel got the call in September 2009. She had just given birth to her son and was concerned about not being able to work again, so when the opportunity arose, she grabbed it.
"I had my son Walker, and then three months later, I got the call [to be on 'Glee'] and so I said yes," she recalled.
Compounding the situation, Menzel was still breastfeeding at the time and "couldn’t fit into any of the costumes," but despite her issues, she went on to relish her role and would appear in guest capacity until 2013.
Last year, Menzel spoke candidly with People about her IVF journey with her husband Aaron Lohr, who she married in 2017. Previously, from 2003 to 2013, she was married to Taye Diggs. They share Walker together.
"Maybe before meeting me, [Lohr] didn’t think he wanted to have kids, and then he sees how good of a dad he can be, so I wanted that for him," Menzel told People.
"I didn’t think I wanted to have a baby, but then Aaron has been the most amazing man to my son."
Menzel added that her marriage to Lohr was made stronger by their unsuccessful attempts to have a baby.
"[Lohr] feels really loved that I even tried and put my body through that. I think going through all that, you’re so exhausted by it that finally, it becomes apparent, like, I don’t want to do this anymore, and it just wasn’t meant to be, and you’re resolved in that," she candidly admitted.
"He sees Walker as his own kid at this point anyway," she added. "I think we feel content and lucky with what we have."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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