Phyllis Smith

For other people named Phyllis Smith, see Phyllis Smith (disambiguation).

Phyllis Smith
Smith in 2014 at KTVI
Born	Phyllis Louise Smith (1951-07-10) July 10, 1951 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Missouri–St. Louis
Occupations	Actress casting associate
Years active	1980–present

Phyllis Louise Smith (born July 10, 1951) is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series The Office and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness in the film Inside Out. She also starred as Betty Broderick-Allen on the critically-acclaimed Netflix series The OA.

Early life

Smith was born in St. Louis in 1951. She is the second eldest of nine siblings. She graduated from Cleveland High School in 1968.

Education

Smith graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in elementary education. In the 1970s and 1980s, she worked as a dancer, a cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals football team, and a burlesque performer. She said that there was "no stripping, but I did wear feathers." She was forced to quit dancing after suffering a knee injury. Following this, Smith worked briefly as a telemarketer, lasting only three hours before resigning. She later worked in Hollywood, California, as an actress and in casting. Smith’s first paid acting role was as an extra in the film Caddyshack.

Career

Smith was working as a casting associate under the direction of Allison Jones on the television series The Office, when she was offered the role of Phyllis Lapin, a character created specifically for her, a soft-spoken saleswoman who tended to disagree with pompous office manager Michael Scott. She received Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006 and 2007 for her performance in The Office in the category "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series". In June 2008, Smith appeared with the cast of The Office on Celebrity Family Feud. In 2011, she played a supporting role in the film Bad Teacher. In 2015, she voiced the character Sadness in the Pixar film Inside Out, receiving high critical praise for her performance. Later, she appeared as a regular in the Netflix series The OA.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Caddyshack	Unknown role	Uncredited
1994	The Princess and the Goblin	Narrator	Uncredited
2005	The 40-Year-Old Virgin	Andy's Mother	Uncredited
2006	I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With	Marsha
2011	Bad Teacher	Lynn
2011	Butter	Nancy
2011	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked	Flight Attendant
2015	Inside Out	Sadness (voice)	Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
2015	Riley's First Date?	Sadness (voice)	Short film
2021	Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar	Delores

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Arrested Development	Carla	Episode: "The Immaculate Election"
2005–2013	The Office	Phyllis Vance	Starring: 187 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007–2008) Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2009–2013)
2006	The Office: The Accountants	Phyllis Vance	Episode: "Phyllis"
2008	The Office: The Outburst	Phyllis Vance	Episode: "The Explanation"
2013	Trophy Wife	Mrs. Patty Steinberg	3 episodes
2014	The Middle	Mrs. Huff	Episode: "The Sinkhole"
2016–2019	The OA	Betty Broderick-Allen	Starring: 12 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0	Sadness	Voice

Production work

Year	Title	Position	Notes
1992	A Taste for Killing	Casting associate	TV movie
1994–1997	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman		88 episodes
1999	Roswell		1 episode
2000–2002	Spin City		45 episodes
2005	Curb Your Enthusiasm		10 episodes
2005	The Office	Assistant Casting Director	6 episodes

External links

• Phyllis Smith at IMDb
• Deadspin profile