Jennifer Barnhart (born March 11, 1972) is an American actress and puppeteer, with a portfolio of television and theatre performances.
Early life
Barnhart was born and grew up in Hamden, Connecticut. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting with a concentration in puppetry.
Career
Puppetry career
In 1996, Barnhart began her puppeteer career performing on Once Upon a Tree performing Mara the Beaver and Mrs. Peeper the Owl. She made her Broadway debut in 2003 and is a featured performer in the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q, in which she also appeared Off-Broadway. She was a regular puppeteer on the Nickelodeon series Oobi, playing Mrs. Johnson and various incidental characters. She also stars as Cleo on PBS's literacy education series, Between the Lions, and performed the puppetry for Kanga and Owl on Disney Channel's The Book of Pooh. In 2010, she portrayed Chicago Police Department detective Lorna Diamond in the Law & Order: SVU episode, "Behave".