Janet Varney

Janet Varney was born in 1974-1975 in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated as salutatorian from Rincon High School in 1993 and pursued a Bachelor of Arts in theater from San Francisco State University, graduating in 1997. After a brief period in interior design, Varney returned to her passion for acting, making her television debut in 2004 on Comedy Central’s “Crossballs.” Her early career included guest appearances on series like “Bones,” “Better Off Ted,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Hot in Cleveland,” and “Psych.”

Varney gained significant recognition for her role as the voice of Korra in the Nickelodeon animated series “The Legend of Korra,” which she began in 2012 and continued for all four seasons until 2014. Her voice work for the character extended to video games, with her final portrayal in “Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway” in 2022. In live-action television, she co-starred as Sheriff Evie Barret in IFC’s “Stan Against Evil” from 2016 to 2018 and held a recurring role as Becca Barbara in “You’re the Worst,” appearing in 28 episodes from 2014 to 2019. In 2016, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her work on “Everyone’s Crazy But Us.”

Beyond acting, Varney is a co-founder, creative director, and producer of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival, which has been running for 19 years. She has also hosted “The JV Club” podcast since 2012, which moved to the Maximum Fun network in 2018, and co-hosts the “Avatar: Braving the Elements” podcast with Dante Basco. Her comedic talent is further showcased through her contributions to RiffTrax, where she has written and performed audio commentaries for films like “Footloose” and “Poltergeist.” She also co-created and executive produced “Neil’s Puppet Dreams” with Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka in 2012.