Janet Varney Biography

Janet Maureen Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress best known for hosting TBS's Dinner and a Movie and as the voice of Korra in The Legend of Korra.

Early life

Varney was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated as salutatorian from Rincon High School in 1993 and is an alumna of San Francisco State University where she majored in theater. She later pursued a career in interior design before eventually finding her way back into acting. Varney was raised Mormon, but left the church at 17 and now identifies as an agnostic. Varney is of English and Scottish descent.

Career

Television projects

Varney was co-host of The Hollywood Show with Brian Unger, a recurring player on Norm Macdonald's sketch show Back to Norm and an ensemble player on Crossballs, all for Comedy Central. She also starred in the short-lived FOX comedy Happy Hour. In 2007, Varney appeared in the short films Random Acts of Kindness, Die Hardly Working, Eternal Waters, Worldly Possession, The Losers, Keep Off Grass, and Dress For Success which were made during the reality show On the Lot. She has recently appeared as recurring character "Bev" for the web series Back on Topps with Randy and Jason Sklar. Starting in 2008, she began starring in the HBO television series Entourage, playing television producer Amy Miller who works alongside Eric and Charlie. Varney was also cast in a movie called Best Player, starring opposite Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy.

Dinner and a Movie

In 2005, Varney replaced Lisa Kushell as the hostess of the TBS cooking and entertainment show, Dinner and a Movie. She appeared alongside host Paul Gilmartin and chef Claud Mann in each episode introducing movies and injecting humor during the preparation of a creative dinner to go with some theme of the movie until the series' cancellation in 2011.

Rifftrax

Varney has written and performed several comedic audio commentaries for films along with fellow SF Sketchfest co-founder Cole Stratton. These appear on the Rifftrax website under the Rifftrax Presents branding, as being officially sanctioned by Rifftrax founder and Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumnus, Michael J. Nelson.

She has performed in Rifftrax commentaries for the following films:

• Footloose
• Poltergeist
• Ghost
• Dirty Dancing
• Jaws 3-D
• Flatliners
• The Lost Boys
• Dreamscape

Other professional projects

Varney is the co-founder, creative director and producer of SF Sketchfest, The San Francisco Comedy Festival and is also the co-founder of the San Francisco sketch group Totally False People. She performed with the Los Angeles and San Francisco-based group Sequel 4000. In March 2012, she launched a podcast entitled The JV Club, hosted on Nerdist.com.

Personal life

She was in a relationship with comedian Chris Hardwick from 2004 to 2011.

In young adulthood, Varney was diagnosed with depersonalization disorder.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Stuck	Jane
2004	Crossballs: The Debate Show	Additional Characters
2004	Catwoman	Party Girl
2007	Humble Pie	Joleen
2007	Dante's Inferno	Cleopatra / Various (voice)
2008	Bill	Amelia	Short
2009	Still Waiting...	Haley	Video
2010	Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega	Sylvia Fishtickle - Mom
2011	'	Mary Best
2011	Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer	Mom
2014	Present Tense	Cynthia	Short
2016	Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse	Shana

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Back to Norm	Christine MacDonald	Movie
2006	Free Ride	Megan	Episode: "Up the Aunty"
2006	Love, Inc.	Glenda	Episode: "Full House"
2006	Happy Hour	Molly	Episode: "The Mix CD"
2006	What About Brian	Carol	Episode: "What About First Steps"
2007	Home Purchasing Club	Debbie Driscoll	Series
2007	'	Ellie Tennant	Movie
2007	Halfway Hot	Kimberly Costas	Episodes: "Halfway Hot", "Halfway High School"
2007	Die Hardly Working	Heroine	Movie
2007	Eternal Waters	Lead	Short
2007	Relic: Guardians of the Museum	Luna the moon goddess	game show
2007	How I Met Your Mother	Stacey Gusar	Episode: "Little Boys"
2007	'	Madelaine	Movie
2008	Chocolate News	Trina Johns	Episodes: "1.3", "1.7"
2008	Man Stroke Woman	Various	Movie
2008, 2014	Psych	Mindy Howland / Connie Camp	Episodes: "Murder?... Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?", "Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement"
2008-09	Back on Topps	Bev Cleary	Series
2008-09	Entourage	Amy Miller	Episodes: "Redomption", "Seth Green Day", "One Car, Two Car, Red Car, Blue Car"
2009	Memory Lanes	Tracy Morris	Movie
2009	Bones	Maureen Perot	Episode: "The Bones That Foam"
2007	Grossology	Alice Jenkins	all episodes
2009	Better Off Ted	Lawyer	Episode: "Trust and Consequence"
2009	Married Not Dead	Susan	Movie
2011	Hot in Cleveland	Ellen	Episode: "Bad Bromance"
2011	Best Player	Tracy Saunders	Movie
2012	'	Summer Grayson	Episodes: "Drink, Pray, Love", "Party in a Box"
2012	Sullivan & Son	Kim Elliot	Episode: "The Bar Birthday"
2012	Childrens Hospital	Stacy	Episode: "Ladies Night"
2012	Neil's Puppet Dreams	Patron	Episode: "The Restaurant"
2012-14	'	Lorna	Episodes: "Shall We Dance", "Friends without Benefits"
2012-13	Burning Love	Carly	Regular role (20 episodes)
2012-14	'	Korra (voice)	Main role
2013	MyMusic	Nancy Spackman	Episodes: "Sleep Working?!","I Can't See!!!"
2013-14	Kroll Show	Wife / Mrs. Wilson / Jessica	Episodes: "Secret Room", "Sponsored by Stamps"
2014	Warehouse 13	Elise	Episode: "Secret Services"
2014	Maron	Delphine	Episode: "Therapy"
2014-present	You're the Worst	Becca Barbara	Recurring role (16 episodes)
2014	Sanjay and Craig	Bernice / Yoga Instructor (voice)	Episode: "Ting/Farkwerk"
2015	Shameless	Park Mom	Episode: "Rite of Passage"
2015	Other Space	Host	Episode: "Getting to Know You"
2016	Take My Wife	Melina Marquez	3 episodes
2016	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Movie Trailer Wife	Episode: "Kaley Cuoco Wears a Black Blazer and Slip on Sneakers"
2016	Stan Against Evil	Evie Barret

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	The Legend of Korra	Korra	Main role (Voice)