World-famous actress and musician Kristin Chenoweth was the final keynote speaker at RootsTech 2024. She took the main stage on Saturday, March 2, and delivered an unforgettable keynote address and a curated selection of songs for the RootsTech audience. She even shared a part of her unique story that, according to her, she doesn't divulge often.
Strutting on stage and opening with a passionate rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," the RootsTech audience was enchanted from the beginning. The song, which is from The Wizard of Oz, is one that Kristin often sang along to as a child. She would also sing herself to sleep. This is what made her parents notice her natural affinity for music.
When Kristin was young, she auditioned for her church choir. Though it was a choir of adults from her Baptist congregation, Kristin didn’t let that stand in her way. She auditioned with a song called "Four Feet Eleven," which she sang a snippet of onstage for the audience. Impressed by her talent and precocious personality, the choir gave her a solo in their next performance.
Kristin then told a story of when she went to Vacation Bible School as a young teenager. She felt that God was leaving a "handprint" on her heart, telling her that she was destined to be a missionary. Even though it sounded like a lot of sacrifice, she was willing to go wherever she was called.
“I want people to see God through me,” Kristin said.
Of course, Kristin ended up on Broadway and on stages around the world, which she learned fulfilled that calling to be a missionary in a way she had never even considered. Kristin acknowledged that there are not many people in show business like her, and that she has the goal to use her faith in God to be a positive force in her sphere.
After these insights she performed "For Good" from Wicked, joined in the duet by her accompanist Mary Mitchell Campbell. Kristin shared a message about the importance of forgiveness, in line with the song's theme.
Moving along in her story, she shared what it was like to grow up in the Chenoweth household and the familial influences that have made a difference in her life.
Born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Kristin was adopted by Junie and Jerry Chenoweth shortly after birth. She grew up with one sibling—a brother named Mark—and the 4 of them were a close, tight-knit unit. “They say there’s nature versus nurture, but I had nature and nurture.”
Kristin said she had a “darn good” childhood rooted in “community, family, faith, and encouragement.”
She went on to say that her self-esteem comes from the way she was raised, “Self-esteem is the best gift that you can give a child, and they gave that to me…. Thank goodness I got them as my parents.”
As Kristin grew up and became an adult, she felt a growing pull to find and meet her biological mother.
In 2009, Oprah Winfrey invited Kristin to meet her birth mother on live TV, but Kristin respectfully declined the invitation, preferring to meet with her privately.
Troy Dunne, aka “The Locater,” had begun the work with Oprah to find Kristin’s mother and felt that God needed him to complete that work. So, he got in touch with Kristin, and with her permission, made the meeting happen.
Kristin met her biological mother, Lynn, on December 12, 2012, and they became very close. Kristin and Lynn discovered that they were indisputably connected in ways they could never have known.
Kristin shared that every year as she was growing up, she would go into a room alone on her birthday and send a special message to God. She would ask God to tell her mom that she was having a good life and that she was happy. It wasn’t until Kristin met her birth mother that she learned that Lynn did the exact same thing; sending love through heavenly airways every year on Kristin’s birthday.
Unfortunately, Kristin and Lynn’s relationship came to an early end when Lynn passed away in August of 2023. “I feel her every day,” Kristin shared through a breaking voice. Their close relationship of over 11 years was a very important part of Kristin’s life.
In a room of 6,000 people, Kristin also shared a perspective on her adoption that she says she doesn’t talk about very often.
She explained that she feels like she has 3 mothers: her biological mother, her adoptive mother, and a third woman who was pivotal to her story in another way. That third woman is who Kristin was originally destined to be given to in adoption.
In a twist of fate, the week before Kristin was born, this woman learned that she was pregnant and felt that another family should have the chance to adopt a child. This decision led to Kristin being adopted by Junie and Jerry Chenoweth, and for that, Kristin believes she owes this woman a debt of gratitude.
Kristin then told the RootsTech audience how she met and married her husband, Josh Bryant.
She thought that Josh was handsome from the minute she saw him. After becoming friends over a couple of years, Josh told Kristin that he would like to court her. Even though initially she thought this to be old-fashioned, she was enamored by his approach.
Kristin and Josh connected over their Christian faith and their love of music. They even enjoy performing together, whether in their own home or to an audience, with Josh on guitar and Kristin, of course, as the vocals.
Next, Kristin sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady. It seemed that in the romantic moments of the song, she locked eyes with Josh in the front row. Then, teasing the audience before hitting the final note, asking “Should I do it?” she perfectly executed a ringing high C with encouragement from the audience.
She knew that the RootsTech 2024 crowd was here for it. “This crowd can appreciate a high C at 11:15 in the morning,” she said with a smile.
As the interview was coming to an end, the conversation shifted to the importance of leaving a legacy worth remembering. For Kristin, her role in the arts makes up a big part of her legacy, although her work ranges from adoption charities to supporting women in their professional careers.
Her hometown honored her by naming a theater after her, and she was so touched that she decided to give something back to the community. Thinking about what she wished she had while growing up there, she created the Kristin Chenoweth Broadway Bootcamp to give the young people of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a creative and constructive outlet in the arts.
She sang her final song, "I Was Here," with the unmistakable passion of someone who meant every word. Written by Victoria Shaw and made famous by Lady Antebellum, "I Was Here" is about making a positive difference in the world in whatever way your talent and enthusiasm drives you to do so.
The chorus of the song was the perfect conclusion for everyone at RootsTech to relate to, and to remember why we are gathered here. It talks about making a change, doing something that matters with the time you're given, and leaving a mark on the people you interact with in life.
This song was the perfect bookend for RootsTech 2024 with the theme of “Remember.” We were not only here to remember our ancestors who came before us, but to also think about how we want to be remembered. How will our posterity feel connected to us? What legacy will we leave to be remembered?
Kristin’s story of fate bringing her to a beautiful adoptive family, forging a connection with her birth mother, and finding her true calling as a Christian icon in entertainment is certainly an inspiring story that will be remembered for years to come by the audience at RootsTech 2024.
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