Barnhart with Granny Bird, Maggie Cadabby, and Zoe.
Barnhart with Alan Muraoka and Violet Tinnirello during the taping of Episode 5034.
Barnhart with Raya.
Jennifer Barnhart (b. March 11, 1972) is a veteran puppeteer who joined Sesame Street in Season 32.[1] She eventually inherited the roles of Gladys the Cow, Mama Bear, and Granny Bird, and starting with season 46, became the primary performer for Zoe following Fran Brill's retirement. She also performs the Galli Galli Sim Sim character Raya for the "Cleaner, Healthier, Happier" campaign.
Barnhart performs left-handed,[2] and has recorded vocals for a number of songs, including "Food Quickies" for season 36 and "Bugs Song." (First: Episode 4175) In season 50, she was cast in a recurring role as Charlie's mother, Mary. Barnhart has also directed material related to the series, including the 2022 music video "Sort It All."
Barnhart, who received her BFA in puppetry from The University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program, began her puppetry career working on the Animal Planet series "Once Upon a Tree" and subsequently played Cleo the Lion on Between the Lions, before joining the cast of Sesame Street. She has also performed on John Tartaglia's Johnny and the Sprites, Lomax, the Hound of Music (as Delta), and The Chica Show (Mrs. C).
Barnhart was the longest running member of the original Broadway cast of Avenue Q, portraying her original roles of Mrs. Thistletwat and the Yellow Bad Idea Bear, as well as serving as an all-purpose assistant and understudying the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy T. Slut for the show's entire six-year run. She briefly returned to her former roles in an Off-Broadway production of Avenue Q in 2013[3] and has consulted for regional productions of the show.
For the 2009/2010 Goodspeed production of Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, Barnhart assumed the role of Madame Squirrel.
Credits[]
- for complete list, see Jennifer Barnhart characters
- Sesame Street: Gladys the Cow, Mama Bear, Zoe (2016-present), Granny Bird, Maggie Cadabby, and others...
- Bear in the Big Blue House: Ms. Maxwell
- Sesame Beginnings: Make Music Together
- Happy Healthy Monsters
- Elmo's Christmas Countdown
- Math Is Everywhere
- Kinect Sesame Street TV: The Letter Tree
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: "The Weight" performance
- Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas
- The Magical Wand Chase: assistant performer and on-screen cameo
- When You Wish Upon a Pickle
- Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration
- The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
- Elmo's Playdate
