Idina Menzel Admits Her Self-Esteem Was ‘Pretty Low’ While Working on “Glee” Right After Having Her Son
Idina Menzel Admits Her Self-Esteem Was ‘Pretty Low’ While Working on “Glee” Right After Having Her Son
Rachel Raposas, Raven BrunnerSun, October 11, 2026 at 9:29 PM UTC
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Idina Menzel as Shelby Corcoran in ‘Glee.’Credit: OX Image Collection via GettyMenzel was still breastfeeding when she accepted the role of Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry’s biological mother -
Idina Menzel revealed she had “pretty low” self-esteem during her time on Glee
“I had to be in my trailer pumping my milk while Lea Michelle and the whole crew were young and hot,” she said
The actress played Shelby Corcoran, show choir coach and Rachel Berry’s biological mom
Idina Menzel is reflecting on a challenging moment in her career and motherhood journey.
The Frozen actress, 55, detailed the start of her stint on Glee, which she admitted was in some ways tumultuous, while at New York Comic Con on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Menzel explained that she had welcomed her son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs, months before she accepted the role. With that, she told New York Magazine’s Jason P. Frank that some of the physical changes that came with giving birth to her son complicated how she viewed herself.
Idina Menzel at NYCC on Oct. 8, 2026.Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty
“That was complicated for me, because I just had my son Walker and it was like three months — I was still breastfeeding,” she recalled. “I had to be in my trailer pumping my milk while Lea Michele and the whole crew were young and hot.”
“All this weight and I couldn’t fit into the costume,” she continued. “So my self-esteem was pretty low then.”
On the show, Menzel, then 38, played Shelby Corcoran, show choir coach and biological mother of Rachel Berry, played by Michele, who was 23 at the time.
That age dynamic, coupled with new motherhood, was challenging to contend with, Menzel told Stellar Magazine in 2023.
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“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 said. “It just wasn’t great for the ego.”
In addition, she often “sucked myself into my clothes,” she told the outlet. Still, she made do with the role because she “was excited to work with [showrunner] Ryan Murphy and be a part of that hit show,” she said.
Idina Menzel as Shelby Corcoran in ‘Glee.’Credit: FOX Image Collection via Getty
Menzel welcomed her son Walker on Sept. 2, 2009, with her then-husband and fellow Broadway actor Taye Diggs. The couple ultimately split amicably in 2014, but both remain dedicated to their son and co-parenting.
“Your child comes first, that’s all,” Menzel told PEOPLE Now in 2016. “He comes first, and you have to get past your own egos, and you never talk bad about each other.”
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Menzel also told PEOPLE in 2021 that having a child was “liberating” in some ways, as it pushed her to focus less on herself and prioritize the “beautiful, little humans” and their needs instead.
“And you screw up every day in some way. But if you come from a place of love and forgiveness and try to be a stable, strong sort of rooted tree for your kids, and they know that ... you’re not going to break,” she said. “I think that’s the greatest way to show them that you will always be there and that you love them.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
