Jennifer Barnhart

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

Jennifer Barnhart
Jennifer Barnhart at UCONN in 1992
Born (1972-03-11) March 11, 1972
Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress, puppeteer
Years active1994–present
Notable work
Law & Order: SVU, Johnny and the Sprites, Exposing the Order of the Serpentine

Biography

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]

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

TV credits

References
  1. Playbill interview Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, September 10, 2004, retrieved on 2008-07-24
  2. IMDb, Jennifer Barnhart, retrieved on 2006-06-23
  3. "Jen's Biography". Sesame Street.
  4. "Endless Possibilities with Puppets". Department of Theatre. University of Utah. Archived from the original on 2014-01-31.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2002-06-27. Retrieved 2002-06-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Internet Broadway Database, Jennifer Barnhart, retrieved on 2006-08-08
  7. Avenue Q, cast, retrieved on 2008-07-24
  8. Zinman, Toby. "Superior Doughnuts: Worth a Dunk". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-03-23.


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
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