Susie Essman

Susie Essman
Essman at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Whatever Works
Birth name	Susan Essman
Born	(1955-05-31) May 31, 1955 The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Medium	Film, television, stand-up
Nationality	American
Education	State University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Jim Harder ​ (m. 2008)​
Notable works and roles	Curb Your Enthusiasm Bolt

Susan Essman (born May 31, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, producer and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bobbi Wexler on Broad City, and the voice of Mittens in Bolt.

Early life

Essman was born on May 31, 1955 in The Bronx, New York City, and was raised in the suburb of Mount Vernon. Her father, Leonard Essman, was an internist and clinical oncologist. Her mother, Zora (née Pressman), taught Russian at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the great granddaughter of silent film actor and Russian opera impresario Leo Feodoroff. Essman is Jewish; her grandparents emigrated from Russia and Poland.

Career

Performing

Essman has been traveling and appearing at clubs throughout the country for more than three decades. In 1988, she appeared on HBO with Joy Behar and other rising female comedians on On Location: Women of the Night II. On January 5, 1989, she was a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Her first half-hour special premiered on September 20, 1992 on HBO’s One Night Stand. As much of her comedy draws from her ethnic background, she has been featured in such documentaries as, Heroes of Jewish Comedy and A History of Jewish Comedy.

Essman made her UK standup comedy debut at the Corn Exchange at the Newbury Comedy Festival in July 2007. While in England, she appeared on the British television show 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Essman began her acting career with small parts in two 1988 films – Crocodile Dundee II and Punchline – but is best known for her role as Susie Greene, the wife of Jeff Greene (portrayed by Jeff Garlin), on the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Essman told The New York Times that, by the show's third season, she could not "walk down the street anymore without people stopping her and begging her to say [her character's catchphrase] 'You fat fuck'". In 2007, Slate named Essman's character one of the best on television, and a reason the publication looked forward to the return of the show.

She also provided the voice of Helen Higgins on the Comedy Central series Crank Yankers; she was an occasional correspondent on the first season of the network's The Daily Show. She appeared on Comedy Central's Roast of Bob Saget on August 17, 2008 and provided the voice of "Mittens" (the cat) in the 2008 Disney animated film, Bolt, and later reprised the role in the 2009 short Super Rhino, released on the film's home media. She also made an appearance on the Regis Philbin version of Million Dollar Password.

Writing

Essman's book, What Would Susie Say: Bullshit Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy, was published in October 2009 by Simon & Schuster.

Personal life

Essman was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2002 and used to be a pescatarian — "not a moral thing," she explains, but "aesthetic"; chicken "grosses me out" — and "lives on sushi". She married Jim Harder, a commercial real estate broker, in September 2008. She owns a Shih Tzu named Popeye. Her sister, musician and composer Nora Essman Morrow, died in 2023.

Essman is a good friend of Joy Behar and has appeared on The View multiple times. In 2009, Behar hosted an event at the 92Y with Essman as a guest.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Crocodile Dundee II	Subway Tour Guide
1991	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze	Soho Woman
1997	Volcano	Anita
1997	What's Your Sign?	Carla
2000	Keeping the Faith	Ellen Friedman
2005	The Man	Lt. Rita Carbone
2008	Bolt	Mittens (voice)
2010	Cop Out	Laura
2012	Putzel	Gilda
2017	Band Aid	Shirley
2017	Gilbert	Herself	Documentary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988–1989	Baby Boom	Charlotte Elkman	13 episodes
1991–1992	True Colors	Mrs. Wampler	2 episodes
1993	Women Aloud	Panelist	Episode: "Waist Management"
1994	Hardcore TV	Sports Lady	2 episodes
1995	Ned and Stacey	Aunt Ceil	"Thanksgiving Day Massacre"
1998	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Self (voice)	Episode: "Waltz"
2000–2024	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Susie Greene	Main role; 86 episodes
2002	The King of Queens	Marcia	Episode: "No Orleans"
2002	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Ron Sherwood's Secretary	Episode: "Badge"
1997–2002	Law & Order	Performer	2 episodes
2002–2003	Crank Yankers	Helen Higgins (voice)	4 episodes
2003	Kim Possible	Sadie (voice)	"Car Trouble"
2006	Dora the Explorer	Queen Bee (voice)	Episode: "Dora's First Trip"
2009	Loving Leah	Malka	Television film
2009–present	American Dad!	Mrs. Lonstein (voice)	Recurring role
2012	Adventure Time	Barb (voice)	Episode: "Web Weirdos"
2013	Blue Bloods	Judge Clarice Karl	Episode: "Front Page News"
2015	Weird Loners	Evelyn Goldfarb	2 episodes
2015–2019	Broad City	Bobbi Wexler	8 episodes
2015–2018	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Arlene Heller	4 episodes
2016–2019	Those Who Can't	Leslie Brohn	10 episodes
2017	The Goldbergs	Edie Robb	Episode: "So Swayze It's Crazy"
2018	Beat Bobby Flay	Self (guest)	Episode: "Skirting By"
2019	Bless This Mess	Donna	7 episodes
2020	Harley Quinn	Sharon Quinzel, Grandma Quinzel (voice)	Episode: "Bensonhurst"
2022	Hacks	Elaine Carter	2 episodes
2022	Bob's Burgers	Lorraine (voice)	Episode: "Sauce Side Story"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
2006	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Nominated
2010				Nominated
2015	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series	Broad City	Nominated
2018	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Nominated

External links

• Susie Essman at IMDb