Who is Kristin Chenoweth? All about the Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee who performed the national anthem at the NBA Finals Game 7

Kristin Chenoweth has recently been in the spotlight after she performed the national anthem before Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Chenoweth is an actress and singer who was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2010. She is best known for her performance in the drama TV series, The West Wing, and the comedy series Pushing Daisies.

Other than her recent performance, Kristin had sung the anthem at a few Oklahoma City Thunder games, sometimes solo and sometimes alongside kids from her Broadway Bootcamp.

More about Kristin Chenoweth

Chenoweth has notable contributions to musical theatre. She had won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1999 for her performance in the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. In 2009, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Describing her excitement for performing at the NBA Finals, Chenoweth said this to AP News:

''Let me just say, if they had anxiety medication for Thunder fans, I’d be taking it.''

Explaining her deep connection with the Oklahoma City Thunder, she said:

“I never miss a game unless I’m on stage,” Chenoweth said. “I was a cheerleader in high school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and I loved football, but my favorite was basketball. I like how much of a team player you’ve got to be... And this is my team.”

She continued:

“I’ve had some pretty big moments in my life in the entertainment field, but this one, I don’t know why, makes me nervous. I just am very honored that they asked. And I’m proud of these kids. I mean, we have come so far. Of course I want us to win. When the NFL has hired me for the anthem, you remain neutral. But the NBA didn’t hire me for this, so I’m Thundering it up.”

She then spoke about how the anthem is a tough song for her to perform. She said:

“Actually thinking about what he saw, it’s really important for me to remember the words and talk about what they meant then and what they mean to us now.''

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Before pursuing musical theatre, Kristin sang gospel music in Oklahoma. She also had her own sitcom titled Kristin, and had starred in other sitcoms including Trial & Error in 2018, the comedy drama series GCB, and the musical series Schmigadoon! in 2021.

She had also won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Kristin was last seen in the romantic comedy film Our Little Secret on Netflix.

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