Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American comedic actress best known for hosting TBS's Dinner and a Movie and as the voice of Korra in The Legend of Korra.
Janet Varney was born in Arizona and eventually moved to San Francisco. She is an alumnus of San Francisco State University. Varney has worked and co-founded several comedy troupes, and was in a relationship with Chris Hardwick. In film, Janet has appeared alongside Owen Wilson in Drillbit Taylor, Halle Berry in Catwoman, and in the Lionsgate feature, Still Waiting, as part of a comedy ensemble that includes Justin Long, John Michael Higgins, and Luiz Guzman. Janet recently shot the female lead in the teen comedy Nic & Tristan, starring the dynamic, ten year-old skateboarding Puehse twins. She also starred opposite iCarly's Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy in the 2010 Nickelodeon Original television movie, Best Player, about two online video game rivals who inadvertently learn that the real world can be just as exciting and rewarding as the virtual one.
Janet is the co-creator and co-producer of one of the largest and most successful comedy festivals in the country, the San Francisco Sketchfest. Janet is well known for her wildly successful and long-running stint as co-host of TBS' Dinner and a Movie, as well as the Mark Burnett-Steven Spielberg-produced film competition, "On the Lot". She has also starred in the sketch series, HPC, with Dave Koechner, Diedrich Bader and Kristin Wiig and Sean Hayes' sketch series for FOX, Man Stroke Woman.
She has guest starred on many hit shows including How I Met Your Mother, Better Off Ted, Psych, Bones, What About Brian?, and Halfway Home. Janet continues to recur as smart, sexy television executive, Amy Miller, on HBO's Entourage. In 2009, Janet signed on to star in the new ABC comedy series from Jeff Strauss, alongside Jonathan Silverman and Matthew Lillard.
Janet Varney identifies with the character of Korra in the fact that she shares Korra's impatience and enthusiasm for a lot of things, as well as the loyal friendships and the concern about right and wrong in the world. However, she does believe that Korra is about a hundred times cooler than she will ever be.[1]
If Varney could be a bender, she would be a firebender as she has always had a serious fascination with fire — without being an arsonist. On the other hand, she thinks she would be the worst at airbending.[1]
Janet Varney wrote a song with Paul Gilmartin and Grey DeLisle, the voice actor who voiced Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender, called "Daddy Drank" for the characters her and Grey DeLisle play opposite Paul's Republican Congressman character, Richard Martin.[2]
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