Biography
Character, craft, and an unmistakable point of view.
Emmy Award-winning performer Fran Brill has built an extraordinary body of work across puppetry, acting, voice performance, stage, film, and television.
Fran was the first female puppeteer hired by Jim Henson for Sesame Street, where she created and performed the beloved characters Zoe and Prairie Dawn.
Her puppetry credits also include Saturday Night Live, The Jim Henson Hour, The Muppet Show, Dog City, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Play With Me Sesame, Men in Black, many recordings, and Zoe’s Dance Moves with Paula Abdul.
Stage & Screen
Classically trained at Boston University, Fran moved from Theatre Atlanta to Broadway in Red, White and Maddox. Her film credits include What About Bob?, directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss; Midnight Run, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin; and Being There, starring Peter Sellers.
Television
Fran’s television work includes long runs on All My Children and How to Survive a Marriage—which earned her an Afternoon TV Best Actress Award—as well as Spenser: For Hire, Third Watch, Lip Service directed by William H. Macy, Conan O’Brien, Hyde in Hollywood, and several Law & Order appearances.
Voice & Commercial
Fran has recorded hundreds of commercials—including the celebrated Beautymist Pantyhose spot with Joe Namath—served as the on-camera spokesperson for Actonel, and provided voices for animated series including Doug and Sheep in the City.
On the New York stage, Fran appeared in Look Back in Anger with Malcolm McDowell, Desdemona, Skirmishes, Hyde in Hollywood, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Otherwise Engaged with Roddy McDowall. She also played Stella opposite Shirley Knight and Peter Weller in A Streetcar Named Desire. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for What Every Woman Knows and Knuckle.
Fran has also served on the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild and the Board of Directors of the Jim Henson Legacy.