Here’s What You Need to Know About Danna’s Elphaba from ‘Wicked’
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 11: Actress Danna Paola, who voices Elphaba in Spanish, poses on the yellow carpet "Wicked: Part One" at Auditorio Nacional on November 11, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Cristopher Rogel Blanquet/Getty Images)
The voice actress for Elphaba in the Latin American version of Wicked is making waves. Mexican pop star Danna is shining again for the role that helped her break out globally.
In screenings of Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Wicked in Mexico and Latin America, the voices of Glinda and Elphaba were dubbed over by Mexican actresses. Ariana Grande’s Glinda is voiced by Ceci de la Cueva and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is voiced by popstar Danna. Both Danna and de la Cueva played those respective characters during Mexico’s first live production of the musical in 2013. A little over a decade later, the two Elphabas and Glindas met for the first time during the movie’s premiere in Mexico City.
If you’re new to Danna, the 29-year-old singer and actress has been part of Spanish-language media for most of her life. She was first known in Mexico for starring in children’s telenovelas like María Belén, Amy, La Niña de la Mochila Azul, and Atrévete a Soñar. At 17, she decided to take her career in a new direction and was cast in the Mexico City production of Wicked, becoming the youngest actress to take on that role. At the time, many critics said it was a mistake to cast her as Elphaba, questioning her singing ability, telenovela past, and young age. Danna recently opened up about the negativity she received at the time for taking on the role. “I suffered a lot of bullying from a lot of people and the media when I was picked as Elphaba,” she said in a recent interview. “For me, it was a challenge.”
But Danna proved critics wrong. She donned the witch’s signature green color and belted out “En Contra de la Gravedad,” the Spanish version of “Defying Gravity,” for nearly two years for 464 shows. Her version of Elphaba even drew compliments from Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music and lyrics for Wicked.
“Danna Paola is a great star, she is a great singer, [and] what you will know when you see Wicked is that she is a wonderful actress with great stage presence,” Schwartz commented at the time.
In the same aforementioned interview, Danna said the role was a “huge school” that helped her find herself as a singer. “I discovered myself as a singer at that level. I didn’t know what I was capable of doing on stage. I knew music, but I knew very little about what I was facing,” she explained.
With Danna’s involvement in the Wicked film, people are now revisiting her past as Elphaba and her performances of songs like “Defying Gravity” and “No Good Deed.” Danna’s original run in Wicked inspired her to take bigger swings with her career, which later led to her starring in the hit Netflix series Élite.
Danna is gearing up to release her documentary with Disney +. Back in April, she returned to music with her latest album, Childstar.