Michelle Lin Federer is an American actress.

Early life and education

Federer is the daughter of John and Claudia Federer. She grew up in

Shaker Heights Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

,Stevens, Beth
"Fresh Face Michelle Federer"
broadway.com, January 2, 2004 where she was a student of the Shaker Heights High School Theatre Arts Department under the direction of James Thornton, and she gained early experience working in the

University School University School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys, private, Junior Kindergarten–12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio. The campus located in Shaker Heights serves junior kindergarten through eigh ...

Theater Program, where she first worked and became friends with future ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' castmate Michael Seelbach. Federer's father was a math teacher in the Shaker Heights Public School System teaching at Byron Junior High School (now Shaker Heights Middle School) and currently teaches at the Mandel Jewish Day School. As a teen, Federer attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Camp, located in

Loch Sheldrake Loch Sheldrake is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Fallsburg, New York, United States, in Sullivan County. The zip code for Loch Sheldrake is 12759. The community was originally named Sheldrake Pond after a deep, glaci ...

, New York. She graduated from

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

, located in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

, New York, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre.

Career

Theatre

She understudied the role of Adele Rice in the 2002 Off-Broadway production of '' A Man of No Importance'' at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. In February 2003, she played the role of Thelma in the Hartford Stage ( Hartford, Connecticut) production of ''

The Trip to Bountiful ''The Trip to Bountiful'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. It was adapted by Horton Foote from his 1953 play of the same ...

''. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut as

Nessarose ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by '' Son of ...

in ''

'', a character she originated. Following a San Francisco tryout, the show opened October 30, 2003, starring

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

and

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honori ...

, with music and lyrics by

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

. Federer, the longest-running original principal cast member, left the production on January 8, 2006, and was succeeded by her understudy Cristy Candler. Federer can be heard on the ''Wicked''

cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

. She was the understudy for

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

in the roles of Nan and Lina in the play ''

Three Days of Rain ''Three Days of Rain'' is a play by Richard Greenberg that was commissioned and produced by South Coast Repertory in 1997. The title comes from a line from W. S. Merwin's poem, "For the Anniversary of My Death" (1967). The play has often been cal ...

'', which ran on Broadway from March 26, 2006 (previews) to June 18, 2006. She appeared as Allison in the

Atlantic Theatre Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their ac ...

's Off-Broadway production of ''Anon'' by Kate Robins in January to February 2007. On October 27, 2008, Federer took part in ''The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken'', a fifth anniversary concert featuring a selection of scenes and songs cut from early drafts of ''Wicked''. The concert starred former co-stars

Shoshana Bean Shoshana E. Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, YouTuber, and stage actress. She has released three records and has appeared on many theater cast recordings and film soundtracks. In 2022, Bean received a nomination fo ...

and

Jennifer Laura Thompson Jennifer Laura Thompson (born December 5, 1969) is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, ''Dear Evan Hansen'', and received a Tony ...

. Federer returned to the role of Nessarose in Broadway's ''Wicked'' with performances beginning August 18, 2009, this time replacing Candler. She ended her return engagement on January 10, 2010, and was replaced by Jenny Fellner. She appeared in ''The Cottage'' by Sandy Rustin at the Queens Theatre, Flushing Meadows Corona Park,

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

in 2014.

Television and film

Federer has also appeared in various small film roles, including the biographical film '' Kinsey'' (2004) and independent

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

'' Flannel Pajamas'' (2006). Federer appeared in a recurring role on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Smash'' in which she plays Monica Swift, the wife of Michael (

Will Chase Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is a Tony Award-nominated American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's '' Nashville''. Early life and educat ...

) who has an affair with

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as '' Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...

's character Julia. The series also stars

Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical' ...

, who starred on Broadway alongside Federer in ''Wicked''. ''Smash'' premiered in the United States on February 6, 2012.

Personal life

Federer married her former ''Wicked'' co-star, Norbert Leo Butz in 2007. Their daughter, Georgia Teresa, was born on January 2, 2011." Wicked' Sweethearts Norbert Leo Butz and Michelle Federer Welcome Baby Girl Georgia"
broadway.com, January 3, 2011

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
BroadwayWorld.Com Biography: Michelle Federer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federer, Michelle 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses Ithaca College alumni Living people Actresses from Cleveland Actors from Shaker Heights, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)