# Kristen Schaal
**Kristen Schaal** is an American comedian, actress, voice artist, and writer known for playing Mel, the band's obsessive fan, on HBO's *Flight of the Conchords*, voicing Louise Belcher on Fox's animated comedy *Bob's Burgers*, and voicing Mabel Pines on Disney's *Gravity Falls*.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) Her other work includes commentary segments on *The Daily Show with Jon Stewart*, the role of Carol on Fox's *The Last Man on Earth*, the character Trixie in the *Toy Story* films, and [The Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-guide) on FX's *What We Do in the Shadows*.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) • [2](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/sdcc-2024-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-star-kristen-schaal-opens-up-about-the-guides-growing-role/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | January 24, Longmont, Colorado[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) |
| Signature voice roles | Louise Belcher on *Bob's Burgers* (2011 onward, 312 episodes through 2026), Mabel Pines on *Gravity Falls*, Sarah Lynn on *BoJack Horseman*, Trixie in the *Toy Story* franchise[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102891/) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) |
| Breakthrough live role | Mel, the stalker-fan, on HBO's *Flight of the Conchords* (2007)[4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/kristen-schaal/) |
| Emmy recognition | Nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in 2017 as Sarah Lynn in the *BoJack Horseman* episode "That's Too Much, Man!"[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) |
| Comedy background | New York alternative comedy at Luna Lounge and Rififi; winner of the Andy Kaufman Award at the New York Comedy Festival[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) |
| Stand-up special | *Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore*, an hour-long special on Comedy Central[6](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal) |
| Stage award | Lucille Lortel Award for her performance in *The Coward* at Lincoln Center[7](https://www.sophiechapmantalent.com/people/kristen-schaal/) |
## Early life and education
Schaal was born in [Longmont, Colorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/longmont-colorado), and raised on a ranch in that community outside Boulder, in a Lutheran family whose father built town structures.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) In a 2010 interview she described a childhood on a cattle farm in rural Colorado, in a region she characterized as half hippie and half religious fundamentalist, where the isolation of farm life pushed her toward making up stories and entertaining herself.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview)
Her first memory of being publicly funny dates to her freshman year of high school, when she read a poem seriously in front of her forensic debate classmates and the room laughed; she has said she realized then that being serious was a tool for comedy.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) She attended the University of Colorado and then [Northwestern University](https://www.edgepedia.org/northwestern-university), where she studied acting.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kristen_schaal) A speech teacher at Northwestern told her she had an "atrocious lisp"; the Guardian's 2010 profile quotes a high-school voice coach's remark, "Oh my God, you have a terrible lisp!" Schaal leaned into the voice that drew those criticisms, and it later became the basis of her animation career.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview)
## Stand-up and Flight of the Conchords
After Northwestern, Schaal moved to New York and worked her way into the alternative comedy scene at clubs including the [Lower East Side](https://www.edgepedia.org/lower-east-side)'s Luna Lounge, which hosted the weekly "Eating It" show, and the underground venue Rififi.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) There she focused on alternative conceptual comedy and performance art, and in addition to doing improv and co-hosting a variety show, she took home the Andy Kaufman Award at the New York Comedy Festival.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) Her Edinburgh Fringe work with Kurt Braunohler earned a comedy award nomination in 2008 for their two-hander *Double Down Hearts*, and the pair returned to Edinburgh in 2011 with *Hot Tub*.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/14/kristen-schaal-review-pleasance-courtyard) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/aug/17/hot-tub-kurt-kristen-review)
Casting as Mel, the sweet-talking stalker who befriends the title band on HBO's *Flight of the Conchords*, opened casting doors widely, in the words of a 2022 Washington Post profile.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) Beginning with the 2008 election, she appeared on *The Daily Show with Jon Stewart* as the "senior women's issues correspondent," a persona she used to tackle topics including sexism, gender wage equality, and political campaigns.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview) • [6](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal) Her hour-long stand-up special *Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore* aired on [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central).[6](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal)
## Voice acting
Animation is the part of her résumé for which she is best known. She has voiced Louise Belcher, the youngest Belcher child who favors a pink bunny-eared hat, on *Bob's Burgers* since the series began in 2011; IMDb credits her with 312 episodes of the series through 2026, and she reprised the role in *The Bob's Burgers Movie* (2022).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102891/) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kristen-schaal/) Series creator [Loren Bouchard](https://www.edgepedia.org/loren-bouchard) has said that strapping her voice to a character gives animators and writers "an absolutely enormous engine that's pulling everything," driving jokes, picture, and performance.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/)
Her other prominent animated roles include young Mabel Pines on *Gravity Falls* (2012 to 2016), Sarah Lynn on Netflix's *BoJack Horseman*, Jake Jr. on *Adventure Time*, and Trixie the triceratops in the *Toy Story* franchise, beginning with *Toy Story 3* and continuing through *Toy Story 4* and the announced *Toy Story 5*.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kristen_schaal) • [6](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102891/) In June 2024 she voiced Envy in Pixar's *Inside Out 2*.[13](https://cdn.program-books.annieawards.org/52_Annie_Awards_Program.pdf) Her 2017 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance recognized her performance as Sarah Lynn in the *BoJack Horseman* episode "That's Too Much, Man!"[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) In a 2024 interview marking the show's tenth anniversary, she said she was thankful that Sarah Lynn, a lost child star whose story the series treated seriously, was not reduced to a punchline.[14](https://www.avclub.com/kristen-schaal-bojack-horseman-interview)
## Live-action and later work
Schaal's live-action credits include Hazel Wassername on NBC's *30 Rock*, Carol Pilbasian opposite [Will Forte](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-forte) on Fox's *The Last Man on Earth* beginning in 2015, and film roles in *Dinner for Schmucks*, *Bill & Ted Face the Music*, and *My Spy* and its sequel.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview) • [6](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal) • [7](https://www.sophiechapmantalent.com/people/kristen-schaal/) On *What We Do in the Shadows*, she played The Guide, first appearing in the season one episode "The Trial," recurring in seasons three and four, and becoming a series regular in season five.[2](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/sdcc-2024-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-star-kristen-schaal-opens-up-about-the-guides-growing-role/) She has also appeared in *Our Flag Means Death*, *[The Mysterious Benedict Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-mysterious-benedict-society-tv-series)* (as Number Two), and *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* (as Tempest).[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kristen-schaal/)
On stage she won a Lucille Lortel Award for her performance in *The Coward* at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center), and in 2026 she toured her new two-hander *The Legend of Crystal Shell*, written by and starring Schaal, with [John Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-roberts) of *Bob's Burgers* co-starring, at the Edinburgh Fringe and London's Roundhouse.[7](https://www.sophiechapmantalent.com/people/kristen-schaal/) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/14/kristen-schaal-review-pleasance-courtyard)
## Voice and method
Directors who have hired her describe a distinctive instrument. Josh Cooley, who directed her in *Toy Story 4*, cited her "unique quality to her voice" combined with "impeccable comic timing and ability to make any line hilarious."[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) *BoJack Horseman* creator [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/raphael-bob-waksberg) praised "the deranged sweetness of her delivery."[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/) Schaal herself describes playing comedy as playing the truth of the situation rather than playing for the laugh, and she has said she grounds characters in observation; for Louise, she studied her then-9-year-old nephew to keep the character anchored as a child.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/)
She is married to Rich Blomquist, a producer and former *Daily Show* staff writer with whom she co-wrote *The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex*; the couple have a daughter, Ruby.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/)
## References
1. [Kristen Schaal, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kristen-schaal)
2. [SDCC 2024: What We Do in the Shadows Star Kristen Schaal Opens Up About The Guide's Growing Role, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/sdcc-2024-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-star-kristen-schaal-opens-up-about-the-guides-growing-role/)
3. [Kristen Schaal, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1102891/)
4. [Kristen Schaal, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/kristen-schaal/)
5. [How Kristen Schaal became the queen of quirky voice acting, The Washington Post (May 26, 2022)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/26/kristen-schaal-bobs-burgers-voice/)
6. [Kristen Schaal as Voice of Louise Belcher, FOXFLASH Bob's Burgers bio](https://www.foxflash.com/shows/bobs-burgers/bio/kristen-schaal)
7. [Kristen Schaal, Sophie Chapman Talent](https://www.sophiechapmantalent.com/people/kristen-schaal/)
8. [Kristen Schaal: The toast of American comedy, The Guardian (October 16, 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/16/kristen-schaal-interview)
9. [Kristen Schaal Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kristen_schaal)
10. [Kristen Schaal: The Legend of Crystal Shell review, The Guardian (August 14, 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/14/kristen-schaal-review-pleasance-courtyard)
11. [Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen – review, The Guardian (August 17, 2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/aug/17/hot-tub-kurt-kristen-review)
12. [Kristen Schaal, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kristen-schaal/)
13. [52nd Annie Awards Program, Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Media Production](https://cdn.program-books.annieawards.org/52_Annie_Awards_Program.pdf)
14. [Kristen Schaal is thankful BoJack Horseman's Sarah Lynn wasn't reduced to a punchline, The A.V. Club (August 22, 2024)](https://www.avclub.com/kristen-schaal-bojack-horseman-interview)
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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; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 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