Jennifer Barnhart

Jennifer Barnhart
Barnhart at UCONN in 1992
Born	(1972-03-11) March 11, 1972 (age 52) Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Connecticut (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Actress, puppeteer
Years active	1994–present
Notable work	Avenue Q, Law & Order: SVU, Johnny and the Sprites, Exposing the Order of the Serpentine

Jennifer Barnhart (born March 11, 1972) is an American actress and puppeteer, with a portfolio of television and theatre performances.[1][2]

Early life

Barnhart was born and grew up in Hamden, Connecticut. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting with a concentration in puppetry.[1][3][4]

Career

Puppetry career

In 1996, Barnhart began her puppeteer career performing on Once Upon a Tree performing Mara the Beaver and Mrs. Peeper the Owl.[5] She made her Broadway debut in 2003 and is a featured performer in the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q, in which she also appeared Off-Broadway.[6][7] She was a regular puppeteer on the Nickelodeon series Oobi, playing Mrs. Johnson and various incidental characters. She also stars as Cleo on PBS's literacy education series, Between the Lions, and performed the puppetry for Kanga and Owl on Disney Channel's The Book of Pooh.[1][2] She is a Sesame Street Muppet performer who took over the roles of Mama Bear in 2001 and Gladys the Cow in 2002.[1][2]

Barnhart also worked as a puppeteer in Johnny and the Sprites, a Disney Channel children's show created by her Avenue Q co-star John Tartaglia.[2]

As of season 46 of Sesame Street, she performs the role of Zoe, following the retirement of Fran Brill in 2014.

Acting career

She appeared on screen as a puppeteer in the "Web" episode of Law & Order: SVU in May 2006.[2] In regional theatre, she played the angel in Angels in America (Gallery Players), Olivia in Twelfth Night, and Cassie in Rumors (Connecticut Repertory Theatre). In 2011 she appeared as police officer Randy Osteen in Tracy Letts's new play "Superior Donuts" at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia.[8] In 2010, she portrayed Chicago Police Department detective Lorna Diamond in the Law & Order: SVU episode, "Behave".[2]

TV credits

• Helpsters, 2019-present
• Julie's Greenroom, 2017-2019
• The Chica Show, 2012-2014
• Law & Order: SVU, 2010
• Lomax, the Hound of Music, 2008
• Johnny and the Sprites, 2007
• Law & Order: SVU, 2006
• Exposing the Order of the Serpentine, 2006
• Sesame Street, 2001–present
• Smart Cookies, 2016
• Oobi, 2000–2005
• The Book of Pooh, 2001
• Between the Lions, 2000-2010
• Bear in the Big Blue House, 1997–1998
• Once Upon a Tree, 1996

References

1. Playbill interview Archived June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, September 10, 2004, retrieved on July 24, 2008
2. IMDb, Jennifer Barnhart, retrieved on June 23, 2006
3. "Jen's Biography". Sesame Street. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
4. "Endless Possibilities with Puppets". Department of Theatre. University of Utah. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014.
5. "Once Upon a Tree - That's Tremendous, Who's Who". Archived from the original on June 27, 2002. Retrieved June 27, 2002.
6. Internet Broadway Database, Jennifer Barnhart, retrieved on August 8, 2006
7. Avenue Q Archived January 12, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, cast, retrieved on July 24, 2008
8. Zinman, Toby. "Superior Doughnuts: Worth a Dunk". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 23, 2011.

External links

• Jennifer Barnhart at IMDb
• Jennifer Barnhart at the Internet Broadway Database
• Interview with Jennifer Barnhart at Playbill.com

Preceded by David Rudman	Performer of Mommy Snuffleupagus 2000s - present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Richard Hunt	Performer of Gladys the Cow 2003 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Alice Dinnean	Performer of Mama Bear 2003 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Fran Brill	Performer of Zoe 2016 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Alice Dinnean	Performer of Goldilocks 2005	Succeeded by Fran Brill