# Janet Varney
**Janet Varney** (Janet Maureen Varney, born 1976 in [Tucson, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/tucson-arizona)) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer best known as the voice of the title character in Nickelodeon's animated series *The Legend of Korra* (2012–2014) and as host of the podcast *The JV Club*.[1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) • [2](https://www.thejvclub.org/) She is also a co-founder of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Tucson, Arizona; based in Los Angeles[1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) • [4](https://criticalrole.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) |
| Signature role | Voice of Korra in *The Legend of Korra*, 52 episodes, 2012–2014[1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) |
| Hosting | Co-host of TBS's *Dinner and a Movie* from 2005 until the show's cancellation in 2011[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janet-varney/) |
| Festival | Co-founder of SF Sketchfest, which her own site dates to 2002 and her podcast bio dates to 2001; now in its 22nd year[6](https://janetvarney.com/) • [3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) |
| Podcasts | *The JV Club* (2012–present, over 500 guests), *Avatar: Braving the Elements* with Dante Basco, and *Voyage to the Stars* (2019–2022)[2](https://www.thejvclub.org/) • [6](https://janetvarney.com/) |
| Emmy nomination | Nominated for her role as Denie in Christy Stratton Mann's *Everyone's Crazy But Us*[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) |
| First credit | The low-budget indie film *Stuck* (2003)[1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janet-varney/) |
## The Legend of Korra
Varney voiced Korra, the title Avatar of Nickelodeon's sequel series to *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, for the show's four seasons from 2012 to 2014, and also supplied additional voices including the spirit May.[1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) In interviews she has described the character's voice as only slightly altered from her own speaking voice: more regulated, with fewer highs and lows, and a little raspier, an adjustment she made after being reminded that Korra is younger than she is.[7](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/77384/1/2020AgnoliFPhD.pdf) She has also described the recording process, in which dialogue is recorded before animation, as giving her an unusual distance from the finished episodes compared with on-camera work.[8](https://archive.nerdist.com/a-legend-in-our-midst-an-interview-with-janet-varney/)
The role brought her a BTVA award and a continuing convention circuit presence, and she reprised Korra in video games including the 2014 *Legend of Korra* game.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) • [1](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) According to a talent profile, she later announced she would step down from voicing Korra in upcoming Avatar Studios animated projects, asking that the role pass to an Indigenous voice actor.[9](https://dcdouglas.com/talent-spotlight/janet-varney/) In 2026 she said on the *Braving the Elements* podcast that she "sobbed through" the pilot of *Avatar: Seven Havens*, the new series set 225 years after *The Legend of Korra* in which Korra is blamed for a catastrophic event and treated as a villain.[10](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-shows/korra-voice-actor-says-she-was-shattered-and-sobbed-over-her-character-being-treated-as-a-villain-in-avatar-seven-havens/)
## Television and film
Varney's screen career began with the 2003 indie film *Stuck*, followed by a minor role in *Catwoman* and a starring part opposite Norm MacDonald and [Rob Schneider](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-schneider) in the [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) movie *Back to Norm*.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janet-varney/) Her longest television job was as co-host of TBS's *Dinner and a Movie*, which she joined in 2005 and held until the show's cancellation in 2011.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janet-varney/) She was a series regular on the E! and Yahoo series *Burning Love* (seasons 1 and 3), recurred on HBO's *Entourage*, and appeared in *How I Met Your Mother*, *Psych*, *Bones*, *Shameless*, *Key and Peele*, *Kroll Show*, *Maron*, *American Housewife*, and *Childrens Hospital*, among others.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet)
Her best-known scripted roles are Becca, the sharp-tongued ex-girlfriend on FX/FXX's *You're the Worst* (2014–2019), and Sheriff Evie Barret opposite [John C. McGinley](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-c-mcginley) on IFC's horror-comedy *Stan Against Evil*.[6](https://janetvarney.com/) • [3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) She earned her Emmy nomination as wine-loving Denie in *Everyone's Crazy But Us*, and in 2018 she created, produced, and starred in the digital series *Fortune Rookie*, playing a fictitious version of herself who quits show business to become a psychic.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) Film work includes *Drillbit Taylor*, *Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer*, *The Selling*, and *Best Player* (2011).[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/janet_varney) She also voices Vilya, Keyleth's mother, in season two of *The Legend of Vox Machina*, and has voiced Mera in *Harley Quinn* and [Wonder Woman](https://www.edgepedia.org/wonder-woman) in *Injustice*.[4](https://criticalrole.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney) • [12](https://www.voicetraxsf.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DIGITAL_VT2026-Spring-Catalog.pdf)
## Podcasting and live comedy
**The JV Club**, on the Maximum Fun network, has run since 2012 and features conversations with more than 500 actors, comedians, authors, musicians, and activists about their awkward teenage years; guests have included [Kristen Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-bell), Sarah Silverman, Aisha Tyler, Felicia Day, and [Jameela Jamil](https://www.edgepedia.org/jameela-jamil).[2](https://www.thejvclub.org/) She co-hosts Nickelodeon's official *Avatar: Braving the Elements* podcast with [Dante Basco](https://www.edgepedia.org/dante-basco), the voice of Zuko, and co-created the improvised sci-fi comedy podcast *Voyage to the Stars* (2019–2022), in which she played the ship's misanthropic A.I., Sorry.[6](https://janetvarney.com/) She is also the self-described "4th Host" of Headgum's *Hey Riddle Riddle*.[13](https://janetvarney.com/about)
Onstage she performs with the improv supergroup Theme Park, alongside performers including [Rachel Dratch](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-dratch), John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, and [Oscar Nunez](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-nunez), and is a WorkJuice Player for the *Thrilling Adventure Hour*.[13](https://janetvarney.com/about) She is a writer and performer for RiffTrax with *Mystery Science Theater 3000*'s Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy.[13](https://janetvarney.com/about)
## SF Sketchfest and production work
Varney helped establish SF Sketchfest: the San Francisco Comedy Festival, an event that has since become one of North America's biggest and most celebrated comedy festivals; her website notes the festival is in its 22nd year and names [Paul Rudd](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-rudd), Conan O'Brien, and [Amy Poehler](https://www.edgepedia.org/amy-poehler) among its guests.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) • [6](https://janetvarney.com/) Sources differ on the founding year: her podcast bio says 2001, while her website and a talent profile say 2002.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet) • [6](https://janetvarney.com/) • [9](https://dcdouglas.com/talent-spotlight/janet-varney/) She has continued as the festival's producer and creative director and has co-programmed comedy for the [Outside Lands](https://www.edgepedia.org/outside-lands) music festival.[3](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet)
Her production credits include co-creating, co-writing, and co-producing *Neil's Puppet Dreams*, a series featuring [Neil Patrick Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-patrick-harris) and his puppet-filled dreams, and hosting and producing [Geek & Sundry](https://www.edgepedia.org/geek-and-sundry)'s *Escape!*.[13](https://janetvarney.com/about) She also launched, produced, and co-hosted for HuffPost Live, the Huffington Post's news and conversation television network.[13](https://janetvarney.com/about)
## Background
Varney studied theater and interior design at San Francisco State University, and has said comedy entered her life early through a father who raised her on *The Muppet Show*, Steve Martin movies, and Woody Allen's standup.[14](https://www.nailedmagazine.com/features/comedian-janet-varney) She graduated with a theater degree and briefly worked in interior design before her entertainment career.[15](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/janet-varney.html)
## References
1. [Janet Varney, Avatar Wiki (Fandom)](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney)
2. [The JV Club podcast with Janet Varney](https://www.thejvclub.org/)
3. [About Janet, The JV Club](https://www.thejvclub.org/about-janet)
4. [Janet Varney, Critical Role Wiki (Fandom)](https://criticalrole.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Varney)
5. [Janet Varney, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janet-varney/)
6. [Janet Varney, official website](https://janetvarney.com/)
7. [Francis M. Agnoli (2020). Animating Race: The Production and Ascription of Asian-ness in the Animation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. PhD thesis, University of East Anglia.](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/77384/1/2020AgnoliFPhD.pdf)
8. [A "Legend" in Our Midst: An Interview with Janet Varney, Nerdist](https://archive.nerdist.com/a-legend-in-our-midst-an-interview-with-janet-varney/)
9. [Janet Varney, Talent Spotlight, D.C. Douglas](https://dcdouglas.com/talent-spotlight/janet-varney/)
10. [Korra voice actor says she was "shattered" and "sobbed" over her character being treated as a villain in Avatar: Seven Havens, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-shows/korra-voice-actor-says-she-was-shattered-and-sobbed-over-her-character-being-treated-as-a-villain-in-avatar-seven-havens/)
11. [Janet Varney, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/janet_varney)
12. [Voicetrax Spring 2026 Catalog](https://www.voicetraxsf.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DIGITAL_VT2026-Spring-Catalog.pdf)
13. [About, Janet Varney official website](https://janetvarney.com/about)
14. [Interview: Comedian Janet Varney, NAILED Magazine](https://www.nailedmagazine.com/features/comedian-janet-varney)
15. [Janet Varney, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/janet-varney.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Voice performers › American voice performers › Animation and cartoon voice actors › Contemporary animation voice actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license