7 Actresses Who Have Played Glinda the Good Witch (Including Ariana Grande’s Starring Role in Wicked)

What do Billie Burke, Ariana Grande and Kristin Chenoweth have in common? Everyone waved Good Witch Glinda’s glittering wand.

According to the Atlanticthe pink-clad sorceress made her screen debut in two silent film adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, Glinda began her reign of pop culture in 1939 thanks to actress Billie Burke in the film The Wizard of Oz.

While dozens of TV series, books and live performances have retold the story of Dorothy and her dog who are picked up by a wild space-bending tornado and dumped in the magical Land of Oz, no one has come close to Burke’s level of popularity than the musical Wicked.

Originally adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the Westthe Broadway show is Or prequel detailing how Elphaba (originally played by Idina Menzel) became the Wicked Witch of the West. Chenoweth starred as Glinda in the original 2003 production, which won three Tony Awards and a Grammy.

But that’s not the last audiences will see of Glinda’s goodness: a two-part film adaptation of the musical, starring Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, is slated for 2021. Part One Wicked opens in theaters on November 22, and part 2 will be released in 2025.

Burke, Chenoweth and Grande aren’t the only stars to take on this iconic role. Here’s everything you need to know about the most significant ones Or adaptations — and the actresses who played Glinda in them.

Billy Burke enters The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, Judy Garland as Dorothy and Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939).

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Billy Burke played Glinda in this classic 1930s film that inspired dozens of future projects and included her iconic line, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”

MGM’s The Wizard of Oz is adapted from Baum’s 1900 novel and follows the story of Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), who is transported by a tornado from her home in Kansas to a magical land called Oz. There, Glinda instructs her and her pup Toto to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City so she can ask the Wizard of Oz to help her get home.

According to the AtlanticBurke considered Glinda her favorite role to play.

Lena Horne entered Wizard (1978)

Lena Horne in a scene from “The Wiz” in 1978 in New York, New York.

Michael Ochs/Getty Archive

Lena Horne played Glinda in the 1974 film adaptation of the Broadway musical. The Wiz: Super soul musical.

According to Los Angeles Timesthe film did poorly during its initial run despite an all-star cast with Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

The reimagined story is set in Harlem, where Dorothy, a sheltered school teacher, is caught in a snowstorm chasing after her dog Toto. Like the original story, she is transported to the Land of Oz, where she must search for a mysterious wizard to help her return home.

Enter Kristin Chenoweth Wicked (2003)

Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba and company in ‘Wicked’ on Broadway. ITV/Shutterstock

Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda in the original adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.

Loosely based on the novel of the same name, this performance takes place before Dorothy arrives in Oz and tells the story of the unlikely friendship between two powerful witches – Glinda and Elphaba – and how fate forces them down two different paths.

After his debut in 2003. Wicked took home multiple awards, including three Tonys, six Drama Desk Awards and a Grammy.

Chenoweth told PEOPLE in October 2024 that Grande called her crying when she was cast as Glinda in the film adaptation.

“I told her, ‘You have to do your version of Glinda and I’m giving you permission,'” the Broadway star said. “And that’s the only way I helped her…I let go.”

Miss Piggy inside Muppets The Wizard of Oz (2005)

Miss Piggy as Glinda the Good Witch in ‘The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz’ (2005).

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Miss Piggy played Glinda — as well as the Wicked Witch of the West — in the 2005 Disney film. Muppets The Wizard of Oz.

It stars Ashanti as Dorothy, Jeffrey Tambor as the Wizard, David Alan Grier as Uncle Henry and Queen Latifah as Aunt Em, plus everyone’s favorite Muppets.

The TV movie follows almost the same story as the original The Wizard of Ozexcept for one caveat: Dorothy wants the Wizard to help her become a superstar.

Enter Michelle Williams Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch in ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ (2013).

Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock

Michelle Williams played Glinda in this fantastic predecessor to the original The Wizard of Oz.

In it, James Franco plays Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician who is transported from Kansas to the Land of Oz — where the residents expect a great and powerful wizard to take over. But the land’s three witches – Glinda, Theodora (Mila Kunis) and Evanora (Rachel Weisz) – aren’t convinced he’s up to the task.

Williams told Collider 2013 that she tried not to mention Burke’s original Glinda “too much.”

“There’s a little nod to a few of the costumes and a couple of lines,” she said. “But she’s really… the starting point… When you meet Glinda in the original The Wizard of Ozshe is omniscient, she has a kind of calmness. But there it is… we like to think that’s where she ended up and that’s more where she started.”

Uzo Aduba in Wizard live! (2015)

Shanice Williams as Dorothy and Uzo Aduba as Glinda the Good Witch in ‘The Wiz Live’ (2015).

Virginia Sherwood /NBC /Everett Collection

Uzo Aduba starred as Glinda in NBC’s remake of the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name.

As in the first film, Wizard live! it also had an all-star cast including Common, Amber Riley, Mary J. Blige and NE-YO.

Grier and Latifah also returned to the Land of Oz, but instead of Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, they played the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard, respectively.

Ariana Grande entered Wicked (2024)

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Ariana Grande stars as Glinda in the upcoming film adaptation of the 2024 musical Wicked — a role she had wanted for a long time.

During an appearance on the channel in June 2024 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonhost dug up a post from 2011 that Grande shared, which read: “Loved seeing Wicked again…amazing production! I realized again how badly I want to play Glinda at some point in my life! #Dreamrole.”

Wickedwhich also stars Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Bridgerton Jonathan Bailey, will be slightly different from the musical and will feature at least three new songs. The first part of the two-part film series will premiere on November 22, while the second part will debut sometime in 2025.

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Source: HIS Education