From October 2024 Willemijn will portray Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, in the musical &Julia in Hamburg.

Willemijn is renowned worldwide for her portrayal of the Elphaba character in the musical Wicked, according to the BBC ‘one of the most iconic roles in modern musical theatre’. She is the only actress to have performed the role in three languages and in four countries, apart from Germany and the Netherlands she made her debut as Elphaba on Broadway and West End. This role she played over 2,000 times, and it got her several major awards. Her portrayal can be heard on the Original German Cast recording of Wicked.

2022 Willemijn played Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca das Musical in Vienna. Other theatre credits in Germany include Ghost (Molly), Tarzan (Kala), Mamma Mia (Donna), Elisabeth (Elisabeth), We Will Rock You (Killer Queen) and Aida (Amneris). Willemijn performed in the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as well as in the UK (Paulina) as in The Netherlands (Pepa). Further Dutch theatre credits include Annie (Miss Hannigan), Aida (Amneris) and Come From Away (Beverley Bass).

A fan of Disney since she was a young girl, Willemijn realised a dream by recording the voice of Elsa for the German AND Dutch language versions of Disney’s Frozen (Die Eiskönigin) I, II.

A highlight of her television appearances was performing, alongside nine other ‘Elsas’, the nominated song ‘Into the unknown’ at the 92nd Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, viewed by more than 65 million people worldwide. She has also made appearances on shows such as Golden Henne, Carmen Nebel, Wetten Dass… (Germany), The Oliviers Awards and London Live (UK), as well as Tijd Voor Max, Johnny Kraaijkamp Awards Gala, Koffietijd and The Uitmarkt (Netherlands).

Willemijn has performed concerts around the world including London, Tokyo, New York, Hamburg and Amsterdam and worked alongside highly renowned composers like Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Glöckner von Notredame), Jason Robert Brown (Last 5 Years, Parade), Pasek and Paul (The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen), Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family) and Scott Alan (Home, I’m a Star). In 2019 she was one of the soloists in Disney’s Broadway Hits at the legendary Royal Albert Hall.

In her spare time Willemijn likes to go bike riding with her husband, Dutch musician Bart van Hoof. She also enjoys the serenity of bird watching, a counterbalance to her hectic professional life.