Mitra Jouhari (born January 18, 1993) is an Iranian-American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for starring in the television series '' Three Busy Debras'', based on the sketch comedy group she co-founded, and voicing Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith in the second and third seasons of ''

Clone High ''Clone High'' is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Bill Lawrence for MTV. It premiered on November 2, 2002, in Canada, and January 20, 2003, in the United States. Set at a high school popu ...

''. Jouhari has written for the television series ''Big Mouth'', ''

High Maintenance ''High Maintenance'' is an American anthology comedy-drama television and web series created by ex-husband and wife team Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. The show follows The Guy, a cannabis courier (played by Sinclair), as he delivers his p ...

'', and ''Miracle Workers''.

Early life and education

Jouhari was raised in West Chester,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and is

Iranian-American Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the United States after 1979, as a result of the Irani ...

. She was a fan of comedy from childhood and considers the television shows ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'' and ''M*A*S*H'' pivotal to developing her interest. She attended Lakota West High School, graduating in 2011. Jouhari attended college at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and began to perform

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

comedy as a member of 8th Floor Improv, as well as writing for the Sundial Humor Magazine. After taking internships at the TV shows ''The Daily Show'' and '' Late Night'', she moved to New York City without graduating to pursue a career in comedy.

Career

She contributes writing to the website The Reductress, and has written for the television series ''

'', '' Miracle Workers'', and '' Big Mouth''. Jouhari's writing for ''

The President Show ''The President Show'' is an American comedy television series that premiered on April 27, 2017, on Comedy Central. The show was created by Anthony Atamanuik who also stars as Donald Trump, the President of the United States, alongside Peter Gr ...

'' was nominated for a 2017

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

award. In 2015, Jouhari co-founded the sketch comedy trio Three Busy Debras alongside Sandy Honig and Alyssa Stonoha. They performed weekly at The Annoyance in Brooklyn, typically to a sold-out audience. The trio later moved to Los Angeles to develop the show for television. A live action comedy series of the same name was picked up by

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 ...

on May 7, 2019. Jouhari, Honig, and Stonoha star in and executive produce '' Three Busy Debras'', which is about the "surreal day-to-day lives of three deranged housewives, all named Debra, in their affluent suburban town of Lemoncurd, Connecticut." The series premiered on March 29, 2020. In 2015, Jouhari and Catherine Cohen, later joined by Patti Harrison, started co-hosting ''It's A Guy Thing'', a monthly show in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Jouhari co-hosts podcast ''Urgent Care with Joel Kim Booster + Mitra Jouhari'' with comedian Joel Kim Booster under Earwolf. In 2022, Jouhari guest-starred in an episode of ''

Abbott Elementary ''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as Janine Teagues, a perpetually optimistic second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary, a fictional p ...

'', where she played an art teacher named Sahar. In 2023 she was cast as the new voice of Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith in the second season of ''

'' replacing

Christa Miller Christa Miller-Lawrence (née Miller; born May 28, 1964) is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the ABC sitcom ''The Drew Carey Show'', Jordan Sullivan in the NBC/ ABC com ...

on the

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

streaming service.

Personal life

Jouhari resides in Los Angeles. She is also a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jouhari, Mitra 1993 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Ohio American women comedians American women television writers American people of Iranian descent Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Ohio State University alumni Screenwriters from Ohio Comedians from Ohio 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American women writers American television writers 21st-century American screenwriters Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from California Writers Guild of America Award winners