Iris Bahr
Encyclopedia
Iris Bahr is an American-born Israel
i actress, comedian
, director
, writer and producer. She has appeared on television program
s such as Friends (as Glenda in "The One with Ross's Tan"), Curb Your Enthusiasm
as Rachel Heinemann (Season 5 episodes "The Ski Lift" and "The Korean Bookie"), and The King of Queens
. Bahr also played a lead role in the 2006
film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
, and played the director of a documentary in the 2010 horror film The Last Exorcism
.
Bahr is currently executive producing
, writing, directing and starring in her original series Svetlana, based on her character Svetlana, a Russian lady of the night
/political consultant. The show is being produced by Mark Cuban
. It airs on Cuban's HDNet
. Season Two premiered April 27, 2011.
Bahr received the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Performance for her one-woman show Dai (Enough), which also earned 2 Drama Desk Award
nominations for Best Solo show and Best Sound Design. She also received a UK Stage Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Also in 2007, her memoir
entitled Dork Whore was published, and has since been translated into German
, Italian
and Portuguese
. Bahr was invited to perform Dai at the United Nations
for over 100 ambassador
s and delegates.
Dai was published as a book, DAI (enough) by Northwestern University Press
in November, 2009.
Bahr's sequel to Dork Whore, Machu My Picchu, chronicling her travels through South America, is being published by Skirt in the fall of 2011.
, but moved to Israel
with her mother at age 13, after her parents divorced. During her two years in the Israeli Army
military intelligence
she attained the rank
of sergeant
. As a young woman, she traveled throughout Southeast Asia
and South America
. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University
, where she studied neuropsychology
and religious studies
. She defines herself as an Israeli Jew.
work for the Star Trek
computer games Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force, Star Trek: Elite Force II
and Star Trek: Away Team
, released in 2000, 2003 and 2001 respectively. She followed this up with an appearance on the last episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, "Endgame
" in 2001. She also voiced the character of Madeline Taylor in Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
(2002).
In the following years, Bahr guest starred on a variety of television shows. These roles included guest appearance
s on Strong Medicine
, The Drew Carey Show
, Friends, and The King of Queens, as well as recurring character Rachel Heinemann on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In 2006
, Bahr appeared in her first lead role in a major motion picture, playing Amy Butlin in Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector alongside Larry the Cable Guy
. In May 2006 she had a supporting role as Leonard Hofstadter's girlfriend in the original pilot of "The Big Bang Theory". In November 2006, she opened her one woman show
Dai ("Enough") at the Culture Project in New York City
. In the show, she plays ten different characters in a Tel Aviv
restaurant. In 2007, Bahr was a part of the controversial film Poughkeepsie Tapes. In this she plays an interviewed news broadcaster
. In August 2007, she performed a completely sold-out run of the show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was presented by Paul Lucas Productions, and in March 2009 she performed it in Shaw Theatre
in London
.
Her memoir about her travels through Asia, titled Dork Whore was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in March 2007.
Bahr currently does a weekly commentary on KCRW
entitled "Social Studies", featuring one of her characters - Svetlana, Russia
n lady of the night and proprietor of the "St. Petersburg House of Discreet Pleasure." Svetlana was also a recurring guest on The Marc Maron Show
, and has done regular pieces for Kurt Anderson's show on WNYC's Studio 360
. Svetlana is now the star of her own comedy series, the pilot which can be seen on Funny or Die
. Svetlana
is also a stand-alone series available on HD Net.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i actress, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, writer and producer. She has appeared on television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s such as Friends (as Glenda in "The One with Ross's Tan"), Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
as Rachel Heinemann (Season 5 episodes "The Ski Lift" and "The Korean Bookie"), and The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
. Bahr also played a lead role in the 2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is a 2006 comedy film starring American stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy. Larry, a municipal restaurant health inspector, is assigned a new rookie partner after recklessly closing restaurants for code violations, Amy Butlin , by his boss, Bart Tatlock...
, and played the director of a documentary in the 2010 horror film The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage horror film directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, and Louis Herthum....
.
Bahr is currently executive producing
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, writing, directing and starring in her original series Svetlana, based on her character Svetlana, a Russian lady of the night
Lady of the Night
Lady of the Night is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell. The film stars Norma Shearer in a dual role.-Plot:Chris Helmer is sentenced to 20 years in prison by Judge Banning , and has to leave his wife and baby girl...
/political consultant. The show is being produced by Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban is an American business magnate and investor. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet....
. It airs on Cuban's HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
. Season Two premiered April 27, 2011.
Bahr received the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Performance for her one-woman show Dai (Enough), which also earned 2 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nominations for Best Solo show and Best Sound Design. She also received a UK Stage Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Also in 2007, her memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
entitled Dork Whore was published, and has since been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. Bahr was invited to perform Dai at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for over 100 ambassador
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
s and delegates.
Dai was published as a book, DAI (enough) by Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press is the university press of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA.- History :Northwestern University Press was founded in 1893, at first specializing in legal periodicals. Today, the Press publishes scholarly books of fiction, non-fiction, and literary...
in November, 2009.
Bahr's sequel to Dork Whore, Machu My Picchu, chronicling her travels through South America, is being published by Skirt in the fall of 2011.
Life before acting
Bahr was raised in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, but moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
with her mother at age 13, after her parents divorced. During her two years in the Israeli Army
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
she attained the rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
. As a young woman, she traveled throughout Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, where she studied neuropsychology
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. The term neuropsychology has been applied to lesion studies in humans and animals. It has also been applied to efforts to record electrical activity from individual cells in...
and religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
. She defines herself as an Israeli Jew.
Career
Bahr did voice actingVoice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
work for the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
computer games Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force, Star Trek: Elite Force II
Star Trek: Elite Force II
Star Trek: Elite Force II is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision. It was released on June 20, 2003 for Microsoft Windows. Elite Force II is a sequel to 2000's Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force...
and Star Trek: Away Team
Star Trek: Away Team
Star Trek: Away Team is an isometric real-time tactics game set in the fictional universe of Star Trek and focusing on commando-style reconnaissance and combat...
, released in 2000, 2003 and 2001 respectively. She followed this up with an appearance on the last episode of Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, "Endgame
Endgame (Voyager episode)
"Endgame" is the title of the series finale of the Star Trek spinoff series, Star Trek: Voyager. Originally shown as a double-length episode and presented as such in DVD collections, it is shown in repeat broadcasts as two linked episodes.-Plot:...
" in 2001. She also voiced the character of Madeline Taylor in Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is a video game created by Raven Software, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the Quake III: Team Arena engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game...
(2002).
In the following years, Bahr guest starred on a variety of television shows. These roles included guest appearance
Guest appearance
In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
s on Strong Medicine
Strong Medicine
Strong Medicine is a medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict. The television series aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The series was created and produced in part by comedienne and...
, The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, Friends, and The King of Queens, as well as recurring character Rachel Heinemann on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In 2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
, Bahr appeared in her first lead role in a major motion picture, playing Amy Butlin in Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector alongside Larry the Cable Guy
Larry the Cable Guy
Daniel Lawrence Whitney , better known by his stage name and character Larry the Cable Guy, is an American comedian, actor, and former radio personality....
. In May 2006 she had a supporting role as Leonard Hofstadter's girlfriend in the original pilot of "The Big Bang Theory". In November 2006, she opened her one woman show
One man show
The term one-man show often referred to comedian, who would stand on stage and entertain an audience. With the advent of feminism, words and phrases such as one-woman show and comedienne have entered the modern-day lexicon....
Dai ("Enough") at the Culture Project in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In the show, she plays ten different characters in a Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
restaurant. In 2007, Bahr was a part of the controversial film Poughkeepsie Tapes. In this she plays an interviewed news broadcaster
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...
. In August 2007, she performed a completely sold-out run of the show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was presented by Paul Lucas Productions, and in March 2009 she performed it in Shaw Theatre
Shaw Theatre
The Shaw Theatre is a theatre in Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. It is located near the Euston Road, beside the British Library and St Pancras Chambers , equidistant from King's Cross station and Euston station....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Her memoir about her travels through Asia, titled Dork Whore was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in March 2007.
Bahr currently does a weekly commentary on KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
entitled "Social Studies", featuring one of her characters - Svetlana, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n lady of the night and proprietor of the "St. Petersburg House of Discreet Pleasure." Svetlana was also a recurring guest on The Marc Maron Show
The Marc Maron Show
The Marc Maron Show was a late night radio show produced in affiliation with the Air America Radio network and hosted by comedian Marc Maron. The show originated from KTLK 1150 AM in Los Angeles, California. The show was less politically focused and more comedic than the other weekday programs on...
, and has done regular pieces for Kurt Anderson's show on WNYC's Studio 360
Studio 360
Studio 360 is an American weekly public radio program about media, the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by PRI Public Radio International and WNYC in New York City. The program's stated goal is to "Get inside the creative mind" and uses arts and culture as a lens to...
. Svetlana is now the star of her own comedy series, the pilot which can be seen on Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
. Svetlana
Svetlana (TV series)
Svetlana is a comedy series starring Israeli-American comedienne Iris Bahr. It premiered on HDNet on May 27, 2010.-Plot:Svetlana is a woman of indeterminate age who arrived in Minnesota from the former Soviet Union as a mail-order bride. After leaving her husband Steve, she moves to Los Angeles...
is also a stand-alone series available on HD Net.