Despite her humble beginning, Phyllis Smith has worked her way to the top echelons of her career. Smith appeared in a few uncredited roles in her budding days, including her first paid acting credit as an extra in the sports-comedy film, Caddyshack (1980). Her story took a fortunate turn when she was cast to play Phyllis Lapin-Vance on the television show The Office. She received awards for her performance and showcased her talent on a successful show. Her voice role in Inside Out further proves her prowess.
A former St. Louis Cardinals Cheerleader, Phyllis Smith is a talented dancer. Her passion for dancing emerged at a tender age and she made the most of it. Though she quit dancing at age 30, Smith was an accomplished dancer with an impressive record as a ballet dancer with The St. Louis Civic Ballet and The St. Louis Dance Theater. She was also a professional jazz dancer under Raoul Appel and an exceptional burlesque dancer.
Growing Up, Phyllis Smith Only Wanted To Be a Dancer
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, on August 15, 1949, Phyllis Smith is an American national. She was raised as the oldest of nine children born to her parents and attended Cleveland High School. Smith studied elementary education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, graduating in 1972. Interestingly, acting wasn’t Smith’s first interest as she wanted to become a dancer as a child.
Phyllis Smith began dancing at age 7 and later mixed things up as a comic skit performer. Around the 1970s and 1980s, Smith performed as a burlesque dancer and comic skit performer, touring the country with different groups, including Able’s Baggy Pants Burlesque. As a burlesque dancer, Smith didn’t strip but wore feathers. However, a knee injury ended her dancing career in her 30s. Subsequently, she tried telemarketing before joining the movie industry as an actress and casting associate.
Tracing Phyllis Smith’s Acting Career From Playing Extras To The Spotlight
Phyllis Smith’s acting career began in 1980 with an uncredited role as an extra in the 1980 sports comedy film Caddyshack. In 1993, her uncredited voice role as Abigail’s mother in Once Upon a Forest was deleted. Though uncredited, Smith provided the narrator’s voice in The Princess and the Goblin (1994). Things began to look up for Smith in 2005 after her uncredited role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin as Andy’s mother.
In addition to appearing in one episode of Arrested Development as Carla, Phyllis Smith was cast to play Phyllis Vance in The Office. The role was specially created for her when she was working under Allison Jones as a casting associate. Smith played Phyllis across 187 episodes and reprised the role in two adaptions of the series – The Office: The Accountants (2006) and The Office: The Outburst (2008). Smith portrayed Mrs. Patty Steinberg in three episodes of Trophy Wife in 2013 and Mrs. Huff in one episode of The Middle in 2014.
She appeared in a prominent role as Betty Broderick-Allen in the Netflix series, The OA from 2016 to 2019. Smith has continued her exploits on the small screen with roles in films such as I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006), Bad Teacher (2011), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011). Phyllis Smith rendered a critically acclaimed performance as the voice of Sadness in Inside Out (2015), winning an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for the role. She reprised the role in the video game Disney Infinity 3.0 (2015), the short film, Riley’s First Date? (2015) and Inside Out 2 (2024).
Phyllis Smith’s Has Also Had Pivotal Roles Behind the Camera
Phyllis Smith worked as a casting associate in her budding days as an actress. Her first job in this capacity was in the TV movie A Taste for Killing (1992). From 1994 to 1997, Smith worked as a casting associate on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman across 88 episodes. Other notable shows she worked on as a casting associate include Rosswell (1999), Spin City (2000-2002), and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2005). Smith was the assistant casting director on The Office in 2005 before joining the cast.
Phyllis Smith Has Never Been Married
After over four decades in the entertainment industry, Phyllis Smith has never been linked to anyone romantically. She prefers to keep her personal life away from media scrutiny. However, it has been established that Smith has never married anyone and is happy with her pets. The actress has four cats, Shy Boy, Princess, Little Grey, and Sweet Face. She also has two turtles named Speedy and Alvin. Here’s everything to know about the Inside Out franchise.
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