Daron Leah Nefcy (born November 26, 1985) is an American animator, cartoonist, storyboard artist, writer, producer, and voice actress. She is best known for being the creator and executive producer of the

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

and

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

series ''

Star vs. the Forces of Evil ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' is an American animated magical girl television series created by Daron Nefcy and developed by Jordana Arkin and Dave Wasson, which aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It is the first Disney XD series created b ...

'', for which she voiced additional roles, most notably StarFan13''.'' She is only the second woman to create an original

Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA; also shortened to Disney TVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is an American animation production company that serves as the television a ...

series, and the first since 1997.

Early life and education

Nefcy was born in

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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She has cited the

Japanese anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' as a major influence on her during middle school. In her third year of college she came up with the character of

Star Butterfly The animated series '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' features a number of characters created by Daron Nefcy. It follows the adventures of Star Butterfly, heir to the royal throne of the dimension of Mewni, who is sent to Earth so she can complete ...

. She studied at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

(CalArts), where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Character Animation in 2009.

Career

Nefcy's early credits included Disney XD's ''

Wander Over Yonder ''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who travels across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of ...

'', where she worked alongside the show's creator

Craig McCracken Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American cartoonist, animator, director, writer, and producer known for creating Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Channel and Disney XD's ''W ...

. She also worked on ''

Robot and Monster ''Robot and Monster'' is an American animated television series created by Dave Pressler, Joshua Sternin and Jennifer Ventimilia. Main characters Robot and Monster are voiced by Curtis Armstrong and comedian Harland Williams, respectively. ...

'' (Nickelodeon), and was involved in '' Mad'' (Animation) as a designer. She worked on the family film '' Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale'' as a character designer. In 2012, she animated and co-wrote the segment "March" in the comedy anthology movie ''Holiday Road.''

''Star vs. the Forces of Evil''

Nefcy first pitched an early version of the character Star Butterfly to Disney about four years before the show first aired. Her initial concept was Star as a young child with imaginary super powers. When one of the television executives suggested that Star should be a teenager with real magical powers, Nefcy came up with the idea of turning her into a foreign exchange student from another dimension where she is a princess. Nefcy worked on ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' for about three years before it first aired; following a one-year pilot phase, producing the first 13-episode season took two more years. Her animated series debuted in 2015 and continued for four seasons, yielding top ratings for Disney, with an avid social media fan base, and spin-off books and online games.

Other projects

Nefcy directed an episode of ''

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of ...

'' (2021), an animated TV series educating children about civics, produced by

Barack Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

Personal life

She is married to director Bobby Miller and they have one son together. She is a member of the Democratic Party and helped canvass for

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

during the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

. In July 2024, Nefcy confirmed she was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, which she later recovered from after receiving treatment.

Selected publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nefcy, Daron 1985 births Living people American women animators American storyboard artists American television writers American voice actresses Animators from Los Angeles California Democrats California Institute of the Arts alumni Disney Television Animation people Television producers from California Writers from Los Angeles