Glinda (in full, Glinda the Good Witch of the South) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.

Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz refers to Glinda as the Good Witch of the South. She finally gets Dorothy home by telling her of the power of the silver slippers. She gets the Golden Cap from Dorothy, and uses it to get the Scarecrow back to the Emerald city, the Tin Man to the land of the Winkies, and the Lion to a nearby forest, areas which the characters have been made rulers of. Later books call her a "Sorceress" rather than a "witch." Baum's writings make clear that he did not view witches as inherently wicked or in league with the Devil, so this change was probably meant to signal that Glinda's knowledge and command of magic surpassed that of a witch.

In the books, Glinda is depicted as a beautiful young woman with long, rich red hair and blue eyes, wearing a pure white dress. She is much older than her appearance would suggest, but "knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived" - a fact that is established in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by the Soldier With Green Whiskers. She has ruled the Quadling Country ever since she overthrew the Wicked Witch of the South during the period when Ozma's grandfather was king of Oz.

Alli Mauzey is an American actress from Anaheim Hills, California.

She made her Broadway debut as Brenda in Hairspray in 2003. Her "big break" came when she starred as Lenora in the Broadway musical Cry Baby for which she won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Drama League Award.

In 2008-2009, Mauzey starred as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked. She recently reprised the role, again in the San Francisco production from June 29, 2010 until its closing date of September 5, 2010. On February 17, 2012, it was announced that she will be reprising the role of Glinda once more on the show's first National Tour, beginning Friday February 24, 2012, in Tempe, AZ. She replaces Katie Rose Clarke.

Mauzey also played the title character in a concert version of Cinderella, which took place on May 14, 2010 at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. She played the role of Cinderella again when the concert returned to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra on April 15, 2011 alongside Wicked alum Eden Espinosa, who played the Fairy Godmother. In regional theatre, she appeared in:City of Angels, "Mallory Kingsley", Reprise! LA, California, (2006);The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Laguna Playhouse, California (2005); 110 in the Shade, The Pasadena Playhouse, California (2004) She also played Audrey in the St. Louis Muny production of Little Shop of Horrors from July 25 - 31, 2011.

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999), for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked (2003). Her best-known television role is Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing. As Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies, she won a 2009 Emmy Award. Chenoweth stars in the ABC TV series GCB, which premiered in March 2012.

An Oklahoma native, Chenoweth sang gospel music as a child and studied opera before deciding to pursue a career in musical theatre. In 1997, she made her Broadway debut in Steel Pier. Besides You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Wicked, Chenoweth's stage work includes five City Center Encores! productions, Broadway's The Apple Tree in 2006 and Promises, Promises in 2010, as well as Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions.

Chenoweth had her own TV series Kristin in 2001, and has guest starred on many shows, including Sesame Street and Glee, for which she was nominated for Emmy awards in 2010 and 2011. In films, she has played mostly character roles, such as in Bewitched (2005), The Pink Panther (2006) and RV (2006). She has also played roles in made-for-TV movies, done voice work in animated films and the animated TV series Sit Down, Shut Up, hosted several award shows and released several albums of songs, including A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (2008) and Some Lessons Learned (2011). Chenoweth also penned a 2009 memoir, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages.

Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American stage and television actress. She rose to prominence for her roles in several Broadway musicals including her performance as Glinda in Wicked and her portrayal of Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical. She is currently starring as Ivy Lynn on the television series Smash, which has just concluded its first season on NBC.

Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She began taking vocal lessons at the age of 12. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond, Washington. In 2004, she graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and is a member of Actors' Equity. She is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award for Excellence in Musical Theater. Her regional credits include productions of Café Puttanesca, Suds, and Michael John La Chiusa's The Wild Party.

Shortly before graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Hilty auditioned for the hit musical Wicked. She moved to New York City after graduating and, in August 2004, she made her Broadway debut in the show as the standby for Glinda. She replaced original standby Laura Bell Bundy, whom got fired from the show due to a bad commitment to the entire company. Hilty took over the lead role from Jennifer Laura Thompson on May 31, 2005. After playing the role for a year, Hilty ended her run on May 28, 2006 and was succeeded by Kate Reinders.

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live. Burke was also the wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death.

Known as Billie Burke, she toured the United States and Europe with her father, a singer. Her family ultimately settled in London where she was fortunate to see plays in London's West End. In 1903, she began acting on stage, making her debut in London in The School Girl. She eventually returned to America to become the toast of Broadway as a musical comedy star.

Burke went on to play leads on Broadway in Mrs. Dot, Suzanne, The Runaway, The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl, and The Land of Promise from 1910 to 1913, along with a supporting role in the revival of Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's The Amazons. There she caught the eye of producer Florenz Ziegfeld, marrying him in 1914. In 1916, they had one daughter, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson (1916–2008). Burke was quickly signed for the movies, making her film debut in the title role of Peggy (1916). She continued to appear on the stage, and sometimes she starred on the screen. She loved the stage more than movie-business, not only because it was her first love, but also because it allowed her to have speaking parts (impossible in silent movies). But when the family's savings were wiped out in the Crash of 1929, she had no choice but to return to the screen.^{[citation needed]}