Chin Up, Cheno! After Near Death Experience, Kristin Chenoweth Reveals Her True Life Calling

After sustaining life-threatening injuries on the set of The Good Wife, Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth is on the mend—and she’s finally ready to share the story of her near death experience. Chenoweth, who describes her accident as “the hardest thing that ever happened to me” gave The Star details on the moment when a steel lamp came loose from its rigging and smashed into her head.

“It hit me in the face, flung me to the ground and knocked me out,” Chenoweth said. “We were outside on a windy day so I hit my head on a curb. I fractured my skull, had a concussion, hurt my ribs, broke my nose and damaged my neck.” When the actress arrived at the emergency room, a doctor broke the news that Chenoweth could have died: “If it had hit you a few inches higher, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Even during the accident, Chenoweth was acutely aware of how serious her injuries could be. “I was in such pain and there was blood everywhere,” she recalled. “I had double vision and I felt so totally destroyed I remember saying, ‘It’s OK if it’s my time, God.” After the accident, the devout Christian realized she had been “feeling kind of empty” doing TV work. Although she filmed a short scene for The Good Wife after her injury and will still appear in the series’ new season, the accident helped Chenoweth rediscover her true calling. “I feel that I’m supposed to sing. That’s what God wants me to do. I need to be singing so I will do that.”

After some much needed rest and recovery, Chenoweth is ready to return to the Great White Way. Not only is she planning to star as Lily Garland in a forthcoming revival of the 1978 musical On the Twentieth Century, she’s also hoping to take on the role of Tammy Faye Bakker in a new musical about the Christian evangelist, author and television personality. According to Chenoweth, the songs in the new musical are “out-of-the-ballpark fabulous.”

Until now, Chenoweth admits her love life has been “on the back burner,” but the accident has changed her outlook. “I always tease people saying I’m gonna be single forever. I don’t know if I wanna go through this alone anymore. I’ve been fulfilled with friends and work and now I wanna share it with one person. But it has to be the right person.”

Season four of The Good Wife premieres September 30.