Iris Bahr is an American actress, comedian, director, writer, author, producer public speaking and performance coach aand host of the X-RAE podcast. She is best known for her recurring role as Rachel Heinemann on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Perla on "Hacks", her solo show DAI (enough), and her TV series Svetlana, which she wrote, directed, starred in and produced with Mark Cuban. She is the author of three published books, Dork Whore, Machu my Picchu and Book of Leon which she co-wrote with J. B. Smoove.
Iris Bahr | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Brown University, *Actors Center, New York
|
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian, director, writer, producer, author |
| Notes | |
Early life edit
Bahr was born in the Bronx, New York, but immigrated to Israel with her mother at age 13, after her parents divorced.[3][4] During her two years service in the Israel Defense Forces's military intelligence, she attained the rank of sergeant.[2][5] As a young woman, she traveled throughout Southeast Asia and South America.[6] She is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, where she studied neuropsychology and religious studies.[6] Bahr did neuroscience and cancer research at Stanford University and Tel Aviv University.[1]
Career edit
Bahr guest starred on a variety of television shows, including guest appearances on "Hacks", "The Conners", Good Girls, Losing Alice, 9-1-1, 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 movie lead role in 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 co worker in the unaired 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.[5] In the show, she plays ten different characters in a Tel Aviv cafe moments before a suicide bomber enters.[4] Bahr received the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Performance for Dai, 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. Bahr was invited to perform Dai at the United Nations for over 100 ambassadors and delegates. She premiered her third solo show, I Lost You There at the Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC in 2017. Her fourth solo show, a sequel to DAI, entitled DAI 2.0, was slated to open in NYC in April 2020 but was canceled due to Covid. She reimagined the show for streaming and premiered the show to a live audience online in December 2020. Her fifth solo show, "See You Tomorrow" was nominated for the 2024 Helen Hayes Award and premiered in Washington DC. It is slated to run in Toronto in July 2024. Her sixth solo show, "Stories from the Brink" will premiere in Montreal in June 2024.
In 2007, Bahr was a part of the film Poughkeepsie Tapes. In this she plays an interviewed news broadcaster.[7]
She moved to Los Angeles after a city truck injured her when it collided with her bicycle on Great Jones Street in New York.[2]
Bahr's memoir entitled Dork Whore was published in 2007, and was translated into German, Italian and Portuguese. It became a bestseller in Germany. The sequel, Macchu My Picchu chronicles her travels through South America. She co-wrote Book of Leon, which came out in 2018, with comic JB Smoove.
Bahr was a series regular on the Israeli TV series Irreversible.
Bahr did voice acting 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).
Bahr also had a weekly commentary on NPR's Los Angeles affiliate KCRW entitled "Social Studies",[8] featuring one of her characters - Svetlana, Russian lady of the night and proprietor of the "St. Petersburg House of Discreet Pleasure."[9][10] Svetlana was also a recurring guest on The Marc Maron Show, and has done regular pieces for Kurt Andersen's show on WNYC's Studio 360.[11] She is the host of the X-RAE podcast as her alter ego Rae Lynn Caspar White, a "Southern Intellectual, professional baby surrogate and sexpert". Her guests have included Lawrence O'Donnell, Doug Liman, author Roddy Doyle, Andie MacDowell, neuroscientists, academics and various comedians and artists. In 2023 she launched "The Near Death" podcast sharing both her own near death experiences and her guests.
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Reality School | Student | Short film |
| 2004 | Exit 4A | Sibel | Short film |
| 2005 | The Unchosen Ones | Fiona, Rivka, Avivit and Aunt Rivka | Short film |
| 2006 | Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector | Amy Butlin | |
| 2006 | Mimesis | God | Short film |
| 2007 | Speed Dating | Lynn | Short film |
| 2007 | The Poughkeepsie Tapes | Psychiatrist | |
| 2010 | Fair Game | CPD Agent | |
| 2010 | The Last Exorcism | Iris Reisen | |
| 2013 | 9 Full Moons | Keren | |
| 2015 | How to Grow Your Own | Nina | |
| 2016 | Justification | Stranger | Short film |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Star Trek: Voyager | Female Cadet | Episode: "Endgame" |
| 2002 | The Rerun Show | Marcy D'arcy | Episode: "Married... with Children: Weenie Tot Lovers & Others Strangers/Bewitched: A Bunny for Tabitha" |
| 2002 | Strong Medicine | Ronnie Vongolia | Episode: "The Philadelphia Chromosome" |
| 2003 | Coupling | Alice | Episode: "A Foreign Affair" |
| 2003 | Columbo | Police Officer | Episode: "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" |
| 2003 | The Agency | Sara Shamir | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Dragnet | Becky | Episode: "The Cutting of the Swath" |
| 2003 | The Drew Carey Show | Mindy | Episode: "Drew Answers the Belle" |
| 2003 | Friends | Glenda | Episode: "The One with Ross's Tan" |
| 2004 | Significant Others | Dave's Wife | Episode: "A Date, Fate and Jail Bait" |
| 2005; 2024 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Rachel Heinemann | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | E-Ring | Rosa | Episode: "Hard Cell" |
| 2006 | The Big Bang Theory | Gilda | Uncredited Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
| 2006 | Commander in Chief | Tuba Ozel | Episode: "Happy Birthday, Madam President" |
| 2007 | Shorty McShorts' Shorts | — | Voice role Episode: "Too Many Robots" |
| 2007 | State of Mind | Elizabeth Ellis | Episode: "Helpy Helperpants" |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Detective Donovan | Episode: "Instinct" |
| 2010–2011 | Svetlana | Svetlana | Lead role; 23 episodes |
| 2011 | Eagleheart | Tiffany | Episode: "Death Punch" |
| 2015 | Revenge | Detective Adams | Episode: "Epitaph" |
| 2015 | The Brink | Talia Levy | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Blunt Talk | Doctor | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Elementary | Emily Gray | Episode: "The Ballad of Lady Frances" |
| 2020 | 9-1-1 | Arlene Branson | Episode: "Pinned" |
| 2020 | Good Girls | Clinic Doctor | Episode: "Egg Roll" |
Video games edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force | Telsia Murphy | |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Away Team | Sira D'Qua | |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Armada II | — | |
| 2002 | Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix | Madeline Taylor | |
| 2003 | Star Trek: Elite Force II | Ensign Telsia Murphy | |
| 2017 | Prey | Sarah Elazar |
Books edit
- Bahr, Iris (2009). DAI : (enough): a play (1st ed.). Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 9780810126435. LCCN 2009024606.
- Bahr, Iris (2007). Dork whore: my travels through Asia as a twenty-year-old pseudo-virgin (1st U.S. ed.). New York, New York: Bloomsbury, Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers. ISBN 9781596912342. LCCN 2006018506.
- Bahr, Iris (2011). Machu my Picchu: searching for sex, sanity and a soul mate in South America. maps by Piper Verlag. Guilford, Connecticut: Skirt!. ISBN 9780762772773. LCCN 2011024307.
References edit
- ^ a b "Iris Bahr". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale. May 29, 2008. GALE|H1000179084. Retrieved 2012-05-10 – via Fairfax County Public Library. Gale Biography In Context. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Robertson, Campbell (January 5, 2007). "So Many Different People to Be, Onstage and Off, if She Can Dodge the Trucks". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- ^ Sebba, Anne (20 July 2007). "Interview with Iris Bahr". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009.
- ^ a b Genzlinger, Neil (2006-11-17). "Theater as Russian Roulette, With a Blast That's Soon to Sound". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
- ^ a b Hernandez, Ernio (2006-11-14). "Culture Project Opens Iris Bahr Solo Dai (enough) Nov. 14". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
- ^ a b "Who's News by Lorrie Lynch". USA Today. 2006-05-21. Retrieved 2006-11-30. [dead link]
- ^ "Shaw Theatre". Shaw Theatre. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ^ "Social Studies". KCRW. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ^ Roderick, Kevin (June 18, 2007). "Morning Buzz: Monday 6.18.07". LA Observed. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ^ "Knocked Up on Darfur - Social Studies on KCRW". Kcrw.com. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ^ "Getty Fabulous: Live in L.A." Studio 360. 2007-07-06. Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2012-05-10.