Biography
Phyllis Smith is an American actress and casting director. Born on 15 August 1949 in St. Louis, Missouri, she graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in elementary education. She began her career as a dancer and cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals before a knee injury led her to work in casting in Hollywood.
Smith was employed as a casting associate on the television series The Office (2005–2013) when she was offered the role of Phyllis Vance, a character created for her. She received Screen Actors Guild Awards for ensemble performance in a comedy series in 2006 and 2007. She voiced Sadness in the Pixar films Inside Out (2015) and Inside Out 2 (2024), and appeared in Bad Teacher (2011) and the Netflix series The OA (2016–2019).
