Life Merry For 'Christmases' Star

A huge hit on the Broadway in such musicals as "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Wicked," it shouldn't come as a big surprise that Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth has soared to success in Hollywood.

In the past month alone Chenoweth has scaled new heights. On the heels of Emmy nominated role on the critically acclaimed series "Pushing Daises" to a new Christmas album, "A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas," the bright, bubbly and charming entertainer has another high-profile holiday project on the way with the family comedy "Four Christmases."

Starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, "Four Christmases" marks Chenoweth's second high-profile movie release in a month, following the made-for-DVD hit "Tinkerbell" -- an animated movie that continues to broaden her fan base.

"I'm really big with people under 7," Chenoweth said, laughing in a recent @ The Movies interview. "That's what I keep telling Reese, 'I'm really famous with people under 7.'"

Opening in theaters Wednesday, "Four Christmases" follows a happily unmarried couple, Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon), on what was planned to be an exotic getaway on Christmas Day. But since a fog has stonewalled all flights out of San Francisco and a local television crew has revealed the couple's whereabouts, Brad and Kate's families naturally expect the couple to join them for the holidays.

The problem is, both Brad and Kate's parents are divorced, which means four dysfunctional family visits and four Christmases for the two lovebirds -- in one day.

Chenoweth is featured in the second Christmas in the movie, where the couple visit Kate's mom, Marilyn (Mary Steenburgen). She plays Kate's naughtier than nice sister, Courtney.

The film promises lots of comedy, and Chenoweth helps deliver it in a most unusual way. Among the scenes that will get audiences rolling -- and/or stomachs turning -- in "Four Christmases" is when Courtney hands over her baby to Kate, who becomes the target of the infant's projectile vomit.

"I don't have children but my brother has two and when I read the script I said, "No kid projectiles like that. I thought it was ridiculous," Chenoweth said with a giggle. "Then I when I called sister-in-law and she said, 'Yes they do. Oh, you're so wrong. They projectile in such a way that you never thought was possible.'"

While the scene was courtesy of some creative movie magic, Chenoweth said you would never be able to tell by Witherspoon's or Vaughn's reaction.

"It was absolutely dying from laughter over the look on Reese's face," Chenoweth said. "And Vince's reaction was actually real, like he was going to vomit. For 20 minutes, it was the funniest thing. It's like he had a physical reaction to it. I told him, 'Vince, if you ever get married and have a child, this is what it's going to be like.'"

Home For The Holidays

While Brad and Kate avoid going home -- make that four different homes -- in "Four Christmases," it's never a struggle for Chenoweth to return to her roots. For her, Christmas is the best time of the year.

"I am one of the people who actually lives for Christmas. I'm a Christmas freak," said Chenoweth, an Oklahoma native. "But I'm also one of the persons who gets depressed when it's over. It's like the opposite of 'Four Christmases' for me."

For the most part, there's no drama in the Chenoweth household over the holidays, although becoming well-known over the years has made things a little more interesting.

"When I go home to my family and extended family -- which is Southern and one big happy mess -- it's almost like holding a press conference in the living room," Chenoweth said. "I'm like, 'Yes, Reese is cool,' and 'Yes, Miley Cyrus gave me an album and is nice.'"

But before long, Chenoweth said, she's back to being "Kristi" to her family.

"In the end, they're still my family and my mom asks, "Will you unload the dishwasher?' It's still just 'Kristi coming home,' to everybody, which means a lot," Chenoweth said. "I wouldn't want my family changing their behavior around me."

And thanks for "Four Christmases," Chenoweth said that she feels like she's gained two more family members in Witherspoon and Steenburgen.

"We're just all so similar in our backgrounds and ways we view the world are similar, from spirituality to family," Chenoweth said. "Being with Reese is like being with literally like being with my sister. And being with Mary is like being with my aunt. I don't know if it's because we're all Southern or not. But we all bonded a lot. I still stay in touch with them on a regular basis."

Another reason family means so much to Chenoweth, 40, is because of her loving upbringing as an adopted child. She'll next take part in a holiday special that discusses adoption with singer Faith Hill, and writes about her adoption in her forthcoming autobiography, due this spring.

"There are people in this life who say we choose our parents, and I wonder if there is something to that," Chenoweth said. "I just got the best parents. One day I said to them, 'Weren't you scared that you didn't know how it was going to turn out?' And they said, 'Do you think we knew how it was going to turn out even if we had had you?' There are no guarantees. But I feel like I've won the lottery."