Susan Essman (born May 31, 1955) is an American comedian, actress, producer and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'' (2000–2024), as the voice of Mittens in '' Bolt'' (2008), and as Bobbi Wexler on ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...

'' (2009–2011).

Early life

Essman was born on May 31, 1955 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 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 ...

, and was raised in the suburb of

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. Her father, Leonard Essman, was an internist and clinical oncologist. Her mother, Zora (née Pressman), taught Russian at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

. She is the great-granddaughter of silent film actor and Russian opera impresario Leo Feodoroff. Essman is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

; her grandparents emigrated from Russia and Poland.

Career

Performing

Essman has been traveling and appearing at clubs throughout the country for more than three decades. In 1988, she appeared on

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 ...

with Joy Behar and other rising female comedians on ''On Location: Women of the Night II''. On January 5, 1989, she was a guest on '' The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson''. Her first half-hour special premiered on September 20, 1992 on

’s One Night Stand. As much of her comedy draws from her

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

background, she has been featured in such documentaries as, ''Heroes of Jewish Comedy'' and ''A History of Jewish Comedy''. Essman made her UK

standup comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

debut at the

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

at the Newbury Comedy Festival in July 2007. While in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, she appeared on the British television show ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...

''. Essman began her acting career with small parts in two 1988 films – '' Crocodile Dundee II'' and '' Punchline'' – but is best known for her role as Susie Greene, the wife of Jeff Greene (portrayed by

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing List of Curb Your Enthusiasm characters#Jeff Greene, Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and Murray ...

), on the

comedy series ''

''. Essman told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' that, by the show's third season, she could not "walk down the street anymore without people stopping her and begging her to say er character's catchphrase'You fat fuck'". In 2007, ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' named Essman's character one of the best on television, and a reason the publication looked forward to the return of the show. She also provided the voice of Helen Higgins on the

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 ...

series '' Crank Yankers''; she was an occasional correspondent on the first season of the network's ''

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+ ...

''. She appeared on Comedy Central's Roast of Bob Saget on August 17, 2008 and provided the voice of "Mittens" (the cat) in the 2008

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

animated film, '' Bolt'', and later reprised the role in the 2009 short '' Super Rhino'', released on the film's home media. She also made an appearance on the

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin ( ; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held th ...

version of '' Million Dollar Password''.

Writing

Essman's book, ''What Would Susie Say: Bullshit Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy'', was published in October 2009 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

Personal life

Essman was diagnosed with

celiac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine. Patients develop intolerance to gluten, which is present in foods such as wheat, rye, spel ...

in 2002 and used to be a

pescatarian Pescetarianism ( ; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet. The inclusion of other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, is optional. According to res ...

— "not a moral thing," she explains, but "aesthetic"; chicken "grosses me out" — and "lives on sushi". She married Jim Harder, a commercial

real estate broker Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

, in September 2008. She owns a Shih Tzu named Popeye. Her sister, musician and composer Nora Essman Morrow, died in 2023. Essman is a good friend of Joy Behar and has appeared on '' The View'' multiple times. In 2009, Behar hosted an event at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...

with Essman as a guest.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Essman, Susie Living people Actresses from the Bronx American stand-up comedians 21st-century American women writers Television producers from New York City American women non-fiction writers American women television producers American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Jewish American actresses Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians Jewish American non-fiction writers Writers from Mount Vernon, New York State University of New York at Purchase alumni American women comedians Comedians from the Bronx 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish women writers Actresses from Mount Vernon, New York 21st-century American Jews 1955 births