Iris Bahr () is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, producer public speaking, and performance coach. She is best known for her recurring role as Rachel Heineman on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', Perla on ''Hacks'', her solo show ''DAI (enough)'', and her TV series ''Svetlana'', which she wrote, directed, starred in and produced with Mark Cuban. She is the author of three published books, ''Dork Whore'', ''Machu my Picchu'' and ''Book of Leon'' which she co-wrote with J. B. Smoove.

Early life

Bahr was born in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York. At around twelve years old, her parents divorced and she moved to Israel with her mother. She served in the IDF for two years and held the rank of sergeant. As a young woman, she traveled throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. She chronicles her adventures in her two memoirs, Dork Whore and Machu My Picchu. Both have been translated into several languages. She is a

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

graduate of

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where she studied

neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...

and

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

. Bahr performed neuroscientific and cancer research at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and Tel Aviv University. Gale Biography In Context.

Career

Bahr

guest star The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

red on a variety of television shows, including

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s on ''

Hacks Hacks may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Hacks'' (1997 film), a 1997 American comedy film * ''Hacks'' (2002 film), a 2002 independent American film * ''Hacks'' (2012 film), a 2012 British telemovie starring Michael Kitchen * '' ...

'', ''The Conners'', ''Good Girls'', ''Losing Alice'',

9-1-1 (TV series) ''9-1-1'' is an American procedural drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear. The series premiered on Fox and airs on ABC; it is the first installment of the ''9-1-1'' franchise. The series explores ...

, ''

Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Whoopi Goldberg, who made cam ...

'', ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'', ''Friends'', and ''The King of Queens'', as well as recurring character Rachel Heineman on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', appearing in four episodes, including the finale. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Bahr appeared in her first movie lead role in playing Amy Butlin in ''Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector'' alongside

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a ...

. In May 2006 she had a supporting role as

Leonard Hofstadter Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by Johnny Galecki and one of the protagonists in the 2007–2019 CBS sitcom, ''The Big Bang Theory.'' Leonard is an experimental physicist who shares an apartment with his c ...

's co worker in the unaired pilot of ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

''. In November 2006, she opened her

one woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

''Dai (Enough)'' at the Culture Project in

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 ...

. Bahr received the 2008

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

for Best Solo Performance for ''Dai'', which also earned 2

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

nominations for Best Solo show and Best Sound Design. She also received a UK Stage Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Bahr was invited to perform ''Dai'' at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

for over 100

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

s and delegates. She premiered her third solo show, ''I Lost You There'' at the Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC in 2017. Her fourth solo show, a sequel to DAI, entitled ''DAI 2.0'', was slated to open in NYC in April 2020 but was canceled due to Covid. She reimagined the show for streaming and premiered the show to a live audience online in December 2020. Her fifth solo show, "See You Tomorrow" was nominated for the 2024 Helen Hayes Award and premiered in Washington DC. It was slated to run in Toronto in July 2024. Her sixth solo show, "Stories from the Brink" premiered in Montreal in June 2024 and won the Frankie Storytelling Award. In 2007, Bahr was a part of the film '' Poughkeepsie Tapes''. In this she plays an interviewed news broadcaster. She moved to Los Angeles after a city truck injured her when it collided with her bicycle on

Great Jones Street Great Jones Street is a street in New York City's NoHo district in Manhattan, essentially another name for 3rd Street between Broadway and the Bowery. The street was named for Samuel Jones, a lawyer who became known as "The Father of The ...

in New York. Bahr's

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

entitled ''Dork Whore'' was published in 2007, and was translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and Portuguese. It became a bestseller in Germany. The sequel, ''Macchu My Picchu'' chronicles her travels through South America. She co-wrote ''Book of Leon'', which came out in 2018, with comic

JB Smoove Jerry Angelo Brooks (born December 16, 1965), commonly known by his stage name J. B. Smoove, is an American comedian, actor, and writer. After beginning his career in 1995 on '' Def Comedy Jam'', he was a writer and performer on NBC's ''Saturday ...

. Bahr did

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

work for the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

s '' Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force'', '' Star Trek: Elite Force II'' and '' Star Trek: Away Team'', released in 2000, 2003 and 2001 respectively. She followed this up with an appearance on the last episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager'', " Endgame" in 2001. She also voiced the character of Madeline Taylor in '' Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix'' (2002). Bahr also had a weekly commentary on NPR's Los Angeles affiliate

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

entitled "Social Studies", featuring one of her characters - Svetlana,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n lady of the night and proprietor of the "St. Petersburg House of Discreet Pleasure." Svetlana was also a recurring guest on ''

The Marc Maron Show ''The Marc Maron Show'' was a late night radio show produced in affiliation with the Air America Radio network and hosted by comedian Marc Maron. The show originated from KTLK 1150 AM in Los Angeles, California. The show was less politically ...

'', and has done regular pieces for

Kurt Andersen Kurt B. Andersen (born August 22, 1954) is an American writer, the author of novels and nonfiction as well as a writer for television and the theater. He was also a co-founder of '' Spy'' magazine, as well as co-creator and for its 20-year run ...

's show on

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate (magazine), Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was t ...

. She is the host of the ''X-RAE'' podcast as her alter ego Rae Lynn Caspar White, a "Southern Intellectual, professional baby surrogate and sexpert". Her guests have included

Lawrence O'Donnell Lawrence Francis O'Donnell Jr. (born November 7, 1951) is an American television anchor, actor, author, screenwriter, liberal political commentator, and host of '' The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'', an MSNBC opinion and news program that ...

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), '' Jumper'' (2008), '' E ...

, author

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for ...

, neuroscientists, academics and various comedians and artists. In 2023 she launched "The Near Death" podcast sharing both her own near death experiences and her guests.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Iris Bahr's official websiteIris Bahr's official podcast website
*
Svetlana
website for TV series {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahr, Iris American television actresses Jewish American actresses Jewish women writers Living people Actresses from the Bronx Brown University alumni Israeli soldiers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Israeli descent Israeli people of American-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews American women comedians Comedians from the Bronx Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians