Dannah Phirman () is an American actress, comedian and writer who is best known for voicing Becky Botsford/the titular superheroine, on the

PBS Kids PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...

animated TV series ''

WordGirl ''WordGirl'' is an American animated superhero children's television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids. The series began as a series of shorts entitled ''The Amazing Colossal Adventures of ...

'' and Penny on 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 TV series '' The Mighty B!'', and for co-starring as Narge Hemingway in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

series ''

Newsreaders ''Newsreaders'' is an American television comedy that aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. ''Newsreaders'' is a spin-off of ''Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospita ...

''. She is also the co-creator and co-star of the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

parody series '' The Hotwives''. She was a member of the long-running sketch comedy troupe Respecto Montalban, one of the original improv groups at the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Ad ...

Biography

Phirman majored in theater at

SUNY Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo (village), New York, Geneseo, New York (state), New York. It is New York's public ho ...

and graduated in 1997. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1998 she became involved with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater where she was a part of the improv sketch group Respecto Montalban. Phirman teaches sketch comedy writing and improv, and has performed in two-person shows like ''Eye Candy'' (with

Danielle Schneider Danielle Caroline Schneider (born January 1, 1975) is an American actress, writer, and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She co-created and starred in the Hulu reality TV parody series '' The Hotwives'' and curren ...

), which went to the 2002 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and ''Special Delivery'' (with Paul Scheer), a parody of a British children's show in which postal workers rummage through people's mail in search of heartwarming lessons and edibles. She and Scheer won a 2004 Nightlife Award for ''Automatic Vaudeville'', called "the best

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

" by ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

''. She has since collaborated with creative partner

on other sketch shows such as ''Let's Get Awkward'' and ''Dead Heiresses'' at 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, ...

UCB, as well as a five-woman improv show ''Mother F#$@er''. ''Dead Heiresses'' was also developed as a pilot for

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

in 2007.

Acting

Dannah Phirman was a cast member on Fox’s MADtv from 2000-2001, where she notably portrayed

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

, Debi Mazar,

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

and

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

. Phirman provided the voice of the title character as well as her alter ego, Becky Botsford, in the

animated series, ''

'', Penny, the side-kick to

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

's Bessie Higgenbottom in

's '' The Mighty B!'', and Zaria on the Nickelodeon original series, ''

Tak and the Power of Juju ''Tak and the Power of Juju'' is a 2003 platform game developed by Avalanche Software and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on October 15, 2003 and in Europe on Marc ...

''. She was a contributing voice to

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a small ...

's '' SuperNews!'' show and has recently provided voices for the video game ''

Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...

'' as well as '' White Knight Chronicles: International Edition''.

Writing

Phirman has written episodes of ''

'' and '' The Mighty B!'', and the direct-to-video sequel to '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' with her writing partner

. Phirman and Schneider are currently working on scripts for the upcoming movies ''Catfight'' for

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

and '' Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Them'' for Universal. Phirman and Schneider created the

reality TV parody series '' The Hotwives'' and were writers on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcoms '' Marry Me'' and ''

Telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

''. In 2017, Phirman and Schneider worked as writers and producers on ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' as well as on the

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

sitcom '' I'm Sorry''.

Filmography

*''

The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two Fairy godmother, fairy godparents named List of The Fai ...

'' - Missy *'' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'' - Xiao Niao *'' The Mighty B!'' - Penny *''

My Gym Partner's A Monkey ''My Gym Partner's a Monkey'' is an American animated television series created by Tim Cahill (producer), Tim Cahill and Julie McNally Cahill for Cartoon Network. It aired from December 26, 2005, to November 27, 2008, ending with a total of fou ...

'' - Possum Girl *''

Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...

'' - Teenage Milly ("Act Your Age") *''

'' - Zaria *''

'' - Avina *''

'' - WordGirl/Becky Botsford, Claire McCallister, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy's Mother, Edith Von Hoosinghaus, Pretty Princess (season 1-8), Female Police Officers *''

O'Grady ''O'Grady'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Tom Snyder, Carl W. Adams, and Holly Schlesinger for Noggin's teen programming block, The N. The show features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, Melissa Bardin Galsky, P ...

'' - Ruby Stefani/Misty LeClaire ("Cut the Cord") *''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' - various characters (credited as Dannah Feinglass) *'' White Knight Chronicles'' - Yulie *'' White Knight Chronicles II'' - Yulie *'' Talking Tom and Friends'' - Ben's Mom, Mother, Moon *''

Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American dark comedy television and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series began o ...

'' (TV series) - Appalled Mom *''

'' (TV series) - Narge Hemingway *'' Pencilmation'' - Pencilmiss Brett (2012-2020) *''The Northside Show'' - Pencilmiss Brett (primarily season 9) *''My Life'' - Additional Voices

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phirman, Dannah Living people Actresses from New York (state) American infotainers American sketch comedians American television actresses American television personalities American television writers American voice actresses American women comedians American women screenwriters American women television personalities American women television writers Comedians from New York (state) Jewish American actresses Jewish American comedians Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Jewish women comedians Jewish women writers People from Long Island Place of birth missing (living people) State University of New York at Geneseo alumni Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American screenwriters