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Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg
Schaal at the 2022 WonderCon
Born
Kristen Joy Schaal

(1978-01-24) January 24, 1978 (age 46)
Education University of Colorado, Boulder
Northwestern University (BA)
Occupation
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • writer
Years active 1999–present
Spouse(s)
Rich Blomquist
(m. 2012)
Children 1
Comedy career
Medium
Genres
  • Observational comedy
  • satire
  • political satire

Kristen Joy Schaal (/ʃɑːl/; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Known for her distinctive childlike voice, she has voice roles as Louise Belcher on Bob's Burgers and Mabel Pines on Gravity Falls. She also played Mel on Flight of the Conchords, The Guide on What We Do in the Shadows, Hurshe Heartshe on The Heart, She Holler, and Carol Pilbasian on The Last Man on Earth. She provided several voices for BoJack Horseman; for the character of Sarah Lynn, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. Other roles include Amanda Simmons on The Hotwives of Orlando, Hazel Wassername on 30 Rock, Victoria Best on WordGirl, Trixie in the Toy Story franchise, and Anne on Wilfred. She was an occasional commentator on The Daily Show from 2008 to 2016. She voiced Sayrna in the 2019 EA video game Anthem.

Early life

Schaal was born in Longmont, Colorado, to a Lutheran family of Dutch ancestry. She was raised on her family's cattle ranch, in a rural area near Boulder, Colorado. Her father is a construction worker and her mother a secretary.

Schaal attended Skyline High School where she graduated in 1996. She has a brother, David, who is three years her elder. She attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for a year and graduated from Northwestern University. She then moved to New York in 2000 to pursue a comedy career. In 2005, she had her first break when she was included in the New York article "The Ten Funniest New Yorkers You've Never Heard Of".

Career

Kristen Schaal Kurt Braunohler (4464444414)
Schaal and comedy partner Kurt Braunohler onstage in 2010

Live comedy

In 2006, Schaal performed at the 2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, where she won the award for "Best Alternative Comedian". She was also the winner of the second annual Andy Kaufman Award (hosted by the New York Comedy Festival), Best Female Stand-up at the 2006 Nightlife Awards in New York City, and "Best Female Stand Up Comedian" at the 2007 ECNY Awards. At the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, she won the Barry Award for her show Kristen Schaal As You Have Probably Never Seen Her Before, tying with Nina Conti. Also in 2006, Schaal appeared on the first season of the Comedy Central show Live at Gotham. She co-hosts the weekly variety show Hot Tub in Los Angeles, which was voted "Best Variety Show of 2005" by a Time-Out New York's readers poll. She also performs at the Peoples Improv Theater on the improv team, "Big Black Car". She is a founding member of the theatre company The Striking Viking Story Pirates, which adapts stories by children into sketches and songs.

Schaal performed live at the Edinburgh Fringe 2007, where she was one of six acts (chosen from over two hundred American productions at the Fringe) requested to perform at the US Consul General-sponsored "Fringe USA" Showcase.

On her return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008, Schaal was nominated for the If.comedy award for Kristen Schaal And Kurt Braunohler: Double Down Hearts.

Schaal has also performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, as part of The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 in aid of Amnesty International, and at the Bonnaroo 2009 music festival. In 2010, Schaal appeared as a stand-up comic on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show and at the Solid Sound Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Film, TV, and radio

Kristen Schaal 2 BBF 2010 Shankbone (crop)
Schaal at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival

In 2001, Schaal had a bit role in the film Kate & Leopold. Schaal appeared on HBO's Flight of the Conchords as the stalker-fan Mel, a role which earned her an EWwy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She was also a credited consultant and writer for Season 11 of South Park, and appeared on the BBC's Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

She made her first appearance as a "special commentator" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show on March 13, 2008, often presented in recurring appearances as its news team's "Senior Women's Issues Correspondent". In 2008, she made an appearance on Good News Week during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In October 2008 she appeared in Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008. She also appeared on an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Other film and television credits include Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Snake 'n' Bacon, Norbit, Get Him to the Greek, Conviction, Cheap Seats, Freak Show, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Adam and Steve, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Delirious, Good News Week (Australia), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Education of Max Bickford, Comedy Central's Contest Searchlight, Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother, MTV's Human Giant, and Mad Men. She was a contributor to the sketch/music series The Nighttime Clap on the Fuse music network.

She appeared on Fuse's original comedy series The P.A.. She appeared in two TV pilots written and directed by Jersey City comedian Dan McNamara – The Calderons and Redeeming Rainbow, both of which were screened as official selections at the 2006 and 2007 New York Television Festivals. She appeared in television commercials for T-Mobile, Wendy's, RadioShack, Starburst, Sony Xperia, and Zaxby's. She made an appearance, in April 2008, on the IFC sketch comedy show The Whitest Kids U' Know. On April 3, 2009, she taped an episode of Comedy Central Presents. In 2010, she added her voice to the PBS Kids GO! series WordGirl as Victoria Best, a child prodigy whose parents taught her to be the best at everything that she does. Schaal voiced 12-year-old Mabel Pines on Disney Channel's hit TV series Gravity Falls. She currently voices the character Louise on the FOX Network series Bob's Burgers.

She starred in A. D. Miles' MyDamnChannel.com series Horrible People. In October 2008, Schaal appeared in an episode of Spicks and Specks. On June 10, 2009, Schaal broadcast her first radio show, High Five!!, on Sirius XM Radio's 'RawDog' channel with co-host Kurt Braunohler. Schaal stars in her own web series, Penelope Princess of Pets. She voiced Trixie the Triceratops in Toy Story 3 and Pumpkin Witch and Palace Witch in Shrek Forever After. She was also in the music video for Joey Ramone's "New York City." She also guest-starred in the Modern Family episode "Fifteen Percent", as well as the music video for "Conversation 16" by The National. Schaal guest starred on the MC Frontalot album Solved. She was featured with Kurt Braunohler on the Radiolab episode "Loops". Schaal was in a commercial for the Xperia Play version of Minecraft.

Schaal guest starred on The Simpsons May 8, 2011 episode "Homer Scissorhands," in which she plays Taffy, a love interest of Milhouse. She is incorrectly listed in the credits as "Kristen Schall". This prompted Simpsons writers to issue her a unique apology on the next week's episode in which Bart's chalkboard joke in the intro to the show states "It's Kristen Schaal, not Kristen Schall." Schaal voiced Shannon, a girl who goes on a date with Gru, in Despicable Me 2; she then appeared in a music video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2014 song "Tacky", a parody of Pharrell Williams' "Happy". In 2013, Schaal guest starred in the two-part episode "Sea Tunt" of Archer, lending her voice to a character named Tiffy. In 2014, Schaal co-starred alongside Casey Wilson, Danielle Schneider, Tymberlee Hill, Andrea Savage, and Angela Kinsey in the first season of the Hulu original series The Hotwives of Orlando. She co-starred alongside Will Forte in the FOX comedy The Last Man on Earth, which premiered on March 1, 2015.

Schaal also voices the character Sarah Lynn in the Netflix original animated series BoJack Horseman. In 2017, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her performance as Sarah Lynn. Schaal appeared in A Walk in the Woods (2015) as hiker Mary Ellen. In 2016, Schaal was a panelist on episode 1 of the British comedy show The Big Fat Quiz of Everything, a spinoff of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Schaal voices Molly in the Snap Originals series Death Hacks, co-starring with Thomas Middleditch. In 2020, she played the daughter of George Carlin's character in the sequel Bill & Ted Face the Music and guested on the first episode of Netflix's Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun. Schaal was featured in the episode "The Plantars Check In" in the animated series Amphibia in which she voiced Bella the Bellhop. Schaal appeared as a guest star in Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? on the episode "The Horrible Haunted Hospital of Dr. Phineas Phrag!". Schaal was featured on the episode "Dead Mall" in the animated series Bless the Harts where she voiced Stacey. Schaal currently stars as Number Two in the Disney+ series The Mysterious Benedict Society and regularly guest stars as the Guide on the FX series What We Do in the Shadows.

Personal life

Schaal has been married to Rich Blomquist since 2012. On February 11, 2018, she gave birth to a daughter named Ruby.

Filmography

Films

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Kate & Leopold Miss Tree
2004 Poster Boy Bookstore Lady #14
2005 Adam & Steve Ruth
2006 Delirious Joelle
2007 Norbit Event Organizer
2009 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard Stewardess Stacey
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Gertha Teeth
2010 When in Rome Ilona
Valentine's Day Ms. Gilroy
Shrek Forever After Pumpkin and Palace Witches Voices
Get Him to the Greek Production Assistant
Dinner for Schmucks Susana
Going the Distance Female Bartender
Toy Story 3 Trixie Voice
2011 Hawaiian Vacation Voice; short film
Butter Carol-Ann Stevenson
The Muppets Moderator
2012 Sleepwalk with Me Cynthia
2013 Despicable Me 2 Shannon Voice
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Barb
Welcome to the Jungle Brenda
2015 A Walk in the Woods Mary Ellen
2016 Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie Gloria and Deborah Voices
The Boss Sandy Haim
2017 All Nighter Roberta
Literally, Right Before Aaron Talula Orley
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Edith Voice
Austin Found Nancy
2018 Boundaries JoJo Jaconi
2019 Toy Story 4 Trixie Voice
2020 My Spy Bobbi
Bill & Ted Face the Music Kelly
2021 Seal Team Beth Voice
2022 The Bob's Burgers Movie Louise Belcher
TBA My Spy: The Eternal City Bobbi Post-production

TV

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2001–2002 The Education of Max Bickford Valerie Holmes 3 episodes
2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Abby Episode: "Brotherhood"
2005 Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker Emily Episode: "Dog Show/World Beard and Mustache Championship"
2006 Six Degrees Gail 2 episodes
Conviction Allie Rubinoff Episode: "Madness"
Ugly Betty Nancy Episode: "Pilot"
Freak Show Various voices 7 episodes
2007 Scott Bateman Presents 2 episodes
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Alana Binder Episode: "30"
Human Giant Girl in Doritos Commercial Episode: "Lil 9-11"
Mad Men Nannette Episode: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
How I Met Your Mother Laura Girard Episode: "The Platinum Rule"
2007–09 Flight of the Conchords Mel 21 episodes
2008 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Tammy Tangerine (voice) Episode: "Bible Fruit"
The Whitest Kids U' Know Homeless Woman Episode: "2.9"
Snake 'n' Bacon The Green Fairy Episode: "Pilot"
2008–16 The Daily Show Herself (commentator) 31 episodes
2009 Xavier: Renegade Angel Various voices Episode: "Going Normal"
Comedy Showcase Tourist Episode: "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret"
2010 Modern Family Whitney Episode: "Fifteen Percent"
Comedy Lab Penelope Episode: "Penelope Princess of Pets"
Fact Checkers Unit Paula Episode: "One Groundhog Day Dog"
Scared Shrekless Sugar the Gingerbread Girl (voice) Short
2010–15 WordGirl Victoria Best (voice) 5 episodes
2011 The Penguins of Madagascar Muffy, Buffy, and Fluffy (voices) Episode: "Operation: Neighbor Swap"
Soul Quest Overdrive Tammy (voice) 5 episodes
2011–2012 American Dad! Librarian and Girl (voices) 2 episodes
2011–14 The Heart, She Holler Hershe Heartshe 6 episodes
2011–2018 The Simpsons Taffy / Louise Belcher (voices) 2 episodes
2011–present Bob's Burgers Louise Belcher (voice) Lead role
Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
2012–2013 30 Rock Hazel Wassername 11 episodes
2012–14 Adventure Time Jake Jr. (voice) 4 episodes
2012–16 Gravity Falls Mabel Pines (voice) Lead role; 39 episodes
2013–2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! Herself / Gina Guppies 2 episodes
2013 Archer Tiffy (voice) 2 episodes
Wilfred Anne 4 episodes
NTSF:SD:SUV:: Deborah Episode: "Trading Faces"
Toy Story of Terror Trixie (voice) Short
2014 Toy Story That Time Forgot
The Hotwives of Orlando Amanda Simmons Series regular; 7 episodes
Glee Mary Halloran Episode: "The Untitled Rachel Berry Project"
2014–20 BoJack Horseman Sarah Lynn, various voices 14 episodes
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
2015 Axe Cop God (voice) Episode: "Axe Cop Saves God"
The Hotwives of Las Vegas Amanda Simmons Episode: "Old Friends, New Enemies"
2015–18 The Last Man on Earth Carol Pilbasian Main role; 65 episodes
Also director: "Gender Friender"
2016 Wander Over Yonder Mavis (voice) Episode: "The Cartoon"
Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio Various voices Episode: "For Sarandon"
Great Minds with Dan Harmon Amelia Earhart Episode: "Amelia Earhart"
Transformers: Rescue Bots Chickadee (voice) Episode: "Camp Cody"
2018 Ask the StoryBots Biologist Episode: "How Many Types of Animals Are There?"
2019 Future Man Screw Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Lunch"
Corporate Sheena Episode: "The Tragedy"
Squinters Tina 6 episodes
Forky Asks a Question Trixie (voice) 2 episodes
2019, 2021–present What We Do in the Shadows The Guide 19 episodes
2020 Bubble Guppies Agnes (voice) Episode: "Dragons N' Roses!"
Amphibia Bella the Bellhop (voice) Episode: "The Plantars Check In"
Death Hacks Molly (voice) 10 episodes
Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Herself (voice) Episode: "The Horrible Haunted Hospital of Dr. Phineas Phrag!"
Bless the Harts Stacey (voice) Episode: "Dead Mall"
Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun Dishwasher (voice) Episode: "Housemates"
2020–2022 Dicktown Kendra (voice) 2 episodes
2021−2022 Big Mouth Bernadette "Bernie" Sanders (voice) Recurring role
The Mysterious Benedict Society Number Two Main role
2022 Our Flag Means Death Antoinette 2 episodes
TBA The Green Beret's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse Episode: "Big Ones"

Games

Video games
Year Title Voice role Ref.
2010 Toy Story 3: The Video Game Trixie
2019 Anthem Sayrna

Audio

Year Title Role Author Production company Ref.
2021 The Sandman: Act II Delirium Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs Audible

Music videos

Year Song Artist Ref.
2011 "Conversation 16" The National
2014 "Tacky" (a parody of Pharrell Williams's "Happy") "Weird Al" Yankovic

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2005 New York Comedy Festival Andy Kaufman Award Herself Won
2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival Best Alternative Comedian Won
Nightlife Awards Outstanding Female Standup Comedian Won
2007 ECNY Awards Best Female Standup Comedian Won
2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe If.comedy award Kristen Schaal And Kurt Braunohler: Double Down Hearts Nominated
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Barry Award Kristen Schaal As You Have Probably Never Seen Her Before Won
2009 1st Streamy Awards Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series Horrible People Nominated
2012 2nd Annual Behind the Voice Actor Awards Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical as "Mabel Pines" from Gravity Falls Won
2013 3rd Annual Behind the Voice Actor Awards Nominated
40th Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production as "Mabel Pines" in "Tourist Trapped," Gravity Falls Won
2014 American Comedy Awards Comedy Special of the Year Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore Nominated
2016 43rd Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production as "Louise Belcher" in "Hawk & Chick," Bob's Burgers Won
2017 69th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance as Sarah Lynn in "That's Too Much, Man!," BoJack Horseman Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kristen Schaal para niños

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