Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum (born May 12, 1973) is an American actress and singer best known for playing Glinda in Wicked on tour, on Broadway, and in San Francisco.
She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Susie and Dave Kassebaum and has a brother named Nicholas. She attended St. Martin of Tours Elementary and Notre Dame High School, where she won the Best Actress award in 1991. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University).
Kassebaum started her career with a regional tour of A Chorus Line, where she earned her Equity card, and also toured with Grease. Her Broadway debut came on September 5, 2000, in Rent (as Mark’s Mom, understudying Maureen Johnson). She appeared in the 2004 Broadway revival of Assassins and continued to tour in Grease and A Chorus Line.
She originated Glinda in Wicked’s first national tour and was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress in a Regional Performance. She later performed Glinda on Broadway beginning January 9, 2007, staying until October 7, 2007, and again in 2008. She also played Glinda in the San Francisco production of Wicked from 2009 to 2010.
Other notable work includes Lorraine in The Receptionist Off-Broadway (2007); the Fairy Godmother in Seattle’s Cinderella (2011); Jovie in Elf: The Musical in Seattle; Sam in Leap of Faith at the Ahmanson Theatre (2010) and on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (2012); Diana Goodman in Next to Normal with the Arizona Theatre Company (2012–2013); Ms. Gardener in Carrie: The Musical at Balagan Theatre (2013); and Janice in Come from Away on Broadway (2017). She has also performed in Ragtime and Mamma Mia! at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:58 (CET).