Janet Varney is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is known for voicing the character of Korra in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated television series ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as ''TLOK'' and also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or more rarely simply as ''Korra'') is an American animated Fantasy television, fantasy action drama television series created by Michael Dante ...

'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television series '' Stan Against Evil'', and a recurring role as Becca Barbara in ''

You're the Worst ''You're the Worst'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stephen Falk. Originally broadcast by FX (TV channel), FX, the series moved to its sister channel FXX beginning with the second season. The series follows Jimmy (Chris ...

''. Varney has hosted ''The JV Club'' podcast since 2012 and is also the co-host of the ''Avatar: Braving the Elements'' podcast along with Dante Basco. She is the co-founder, creative director and producer of the long-running comedy festival SF Sketchfest in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Early life

Varney was born and raised in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. She graduated as

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

from Rincon High School in 1993 and is an alumna of

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, where she majored in theater, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1997. She later pursued a career in interior design before eventually finding her way back into acting. Varney was raised

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

, but left the church at 17 and began to identify as an agnostic. Varney is of English and Scottish descent.

Career

Television projects

Varney made her television debut in 2004 as a guest on the Comedy Central debate show '' Crossballs''. She has appeared as a guest star in series including '' Bones'', '' Better Off Ted'', ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'', ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom aired on TV Land and starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was ...

, and

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

.'' Varney has had recurring roles on the shows '' Entourage'' (

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

), '' Burning Love'' ( Yahoo! Screen), '' Country Comfort'' (

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

), ''

'' ( FX), and '' Take My Wife'' ( Seeso). Janet Varney by Gage Skidmore

In 2012, she co-created '' Neil's Puppet Dreams'' with

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...

and David Burtka. That same year, Varney also began her role voicing the main character of Korra on the

animated series ''

'', a spin-off of the series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Varney voiced the character of Korra for all four seasons of the show, which ended in 2014. After a decade of voicing Korra in both the series and several video games, Varney later stepped down from the role with her final outing as the character being in '' Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway'' in 2022. In 2016, Varney was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role on ''Everyone's Crazy But Us'', a web series produced on Funny or Die. Varney was a main cast member on IFC's '' Stan Against Evil'', playing Sheriff Evie Barret. The show ran for three seasons from 2016 to 2018. She was also the host of ''ESCAPE!'', a web series broadcast on Geek & Sundry where teams of celebrities work together to get out of an

escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...

. The show ran for one season in 2017. In 2018 Varney created, produced and starred in ''Fortune Rookie'', an 8-episode web series presented by IFC.

''Dinner and a Movie''

In 2005, Varney replaced Lisa Kushell as the host of the TBS cooking and entertainment show '' Dinner and a Movie''. She appeared with Paul Gilmartin and Claud Mann in each episode, introducing films and injecting humor during the preparation of a creative dinner for some themes. The series was cancelled in 2011.

RiffTrax

Varney has written and performed several comedic audio commentaries for films along with fellow SF Sketchfest co-founder Cole Stratton. These appear on the RiffTrax website under the ''RiffTrax Presents'' branding, as they are officially sanctioned by RiffTrax founder and ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' alumnus Michael J. Nelson. She has performed in Rifftrax commentaries for the following films: *'' Footloose'' *''

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

'' *''

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' *''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...

'' *''

Jaws 3-D ''Jaws 3-D'' (titled ''Jaws III'' in its 2-D form) is a 1983 American horror film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale and Louis Gossett Jr. As the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws' ...

'' *'' Flatliners'' *'' The Lost Boys'' *'' Dreamscape'' *'' Batman vs Superman''

Podcasts

In March 2012, Varney launched a podcast titled ''The JV Club'', hosted on Nerdist.com from 2012 to 2018. In November 2018, it was announced that ''The JV Club'' would be moving to the Maximum Fun network. The podcast released its 500th episode in Jan 2023. Varney has participated on a regular basis on the improv comedy podcast '' Spontaneanation'' with Paul F. Tompkins, where she is referred to as "Little Janet" Varney. She is also one of the core cast members of the improvised SciFi podcast ''Voyage to the Stars'', and the podcast '' Thrilling Adventure Hour''. ''Avatar: Braving the Elements'', an official

companion podcast to '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', premiered on June 22, 2021, hosted by Varney (the voice of Korra) and Dante Basco (the voice of

Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord and Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dan ...

). Varney and Basco discuss key moments and behind-the scenes information from each episode. She has appeared on the podcast '' Hello from the Magic Tavern'' as the character Braidwynn the Warrior Elf, who disguises herself as Crone Bakeress. She is also a frequent guest on the puzzle, riddle and lateral thinking podcast '' Hey Riddle Riddle''. Since 2022, Varney has voiced the character of Janet Lubelle on ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is an absurdist supernatural fiction podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is presented as a community radio show in the fictional American desert town of Night Vale, with the eccentric local radio ho ...

''.

Other professional projects

Varney is the co-founder, creative director and producer of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival, and is also the co-founder of the San Francisco sketch group Totally False People. She is a core member of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

based improv group ''Theme Park Improv''. She performed with the

and

-based group Sequel 4000.

Personal life

Varney dated comedian

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

from 2004 to 2011. In 2018, Varney came out as bisexual. In young adulthood, Varney was diagnosed with

depersonalization disorder Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPDR, DDD) is a mental disorder in which the person has persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization. Depersonalization is described as feeling disconnected or detached fro ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Website
*
''Dinner and a Movie'' website on tbs.com''Rifftrax Presents'' website at Rifftrax.comPodcast Interview
on The Gentlemen's Club with Caleb Bacon {{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Janet Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Tucson, Arizona Actual play performers American agnostics American film actresses American former Christians American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American television actresses American television hosts American voice actresses American women comedians American women podcasters American podcasters Former Latter Day Saints LGBTQ podcasters LGBTQ people from Arizona San Francisco State University alumni American women television hosts American bisexual actresses American LGBTQ comedians Year of birth missing (living people) People with dissociative disorders Comedians from Arizona Bisexual comedians