# Kate Flannery

Kate Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series The Office, which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went on to guest star on CBS shows Magnum P.I. and Young Sheldon. She competed on the 28th season of Dancing with the Stars and voiced Barb on the animated series Steven Universe.

## Early life

Flannery was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of Tom and Joan Flannery, and was raised in the suburb Ardmore, Pennsylvania. She studied for two years at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia and then transferred to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has five sisters and a brother, and is three minutes younger than her twin sister, who is a social worker.

## Career

A former member of The Second City's National Touring Company, Flannery is an original member of Chicago's Annoyance Theater, where she appeared in over 15 shows including The Miss Vagina Pageant and The Real Live Brady Bunch.
The Lampshades, her cult comedy lounge act with veteran improviser Scot Robinson,has been running in Hollywood and in comedy festivals all over the country since 2001 and was seen at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The Lampshades was New York magazine's "LA Pick" for 2006, and was declared "Best Saturday Comedy Show of the Year" by LA Weekly.
Flannery appeared as the alcoholic, divorced, single mother Meredith Palmer on the television comedy The Office, following appearances on The Bernie Mac Show, Boomtown, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The Office earned her and the rest of its cast acclaim, along with several accolades, such as winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, with an additional five nominations for the same award. In 2008, Flannery was a talent scout on Last Comic Standing with her Office costar Brian Baumgartner, and she appeared with the cast of The Office on Celebrity Family Feud.
In 2010, Flannery played Harper's mom on the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place as Elaine Finkle. Flannery also appeared as a judge in a 2009 episode of Iron Chef America. Flannery has been touring with Jane Lynch as her sidekick on stage since 2013 in her show See Jane Sing with Tim Davis and the Tony Guerrero Quintet, playing the Kennedy Center, Joe's Pub, the Borgata and 30 cities.
Flannery was in the long running New York hit, Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore. She also played Neely O'Hara in the 1996 off-Broadway hit Valley of the Dolls, an adaptation of the 1967 film at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City and Los Angeles. Also in Los Angeles, she played the teen prostitute and Blair's sister in The Phacts of Life at the Renberg Theatre and in the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner production of Three Feet Under at The Evidence Room. Jane Lynch's Christmas album A Swingin' Little Christmas features Kate Flannery, and reached #8 on the Billboard top 100 charts.
Flannery also appeared on The Jay Leno Show portraying Wendy in a skit at the time of the burger chain's 40th anniversary. She was a contestant on 19 episodes of Celebrity Name Game, two episodes of Hollywood Game Night with Jane Lynch. Flannery also appeared on Don't Forget the Lyrics and hosted Standup in Stilettos for two seasons on the TV Guide network. She is the former musical director of the Los Angeles Drama Club, teaching Shakespeare to children and young adults.
In 2016, she had a recurring role on ABC's American Housewife as Crossing Guard Sandy, played a janitor in an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, appeared on FOX's New Girl and MTV's Mary + Jane, and in 2017, recurred on Cartoon Network's Steven Universe as Barbara "Barb" Miller. Flannery was a member of the band Mono Puff under the stage name "Lady Puff". She toured with the band and sang on their second album, It's Fun to Steal.
In 2019, Flannery was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with first-time professional Pasha Pashkov and was eliminated fifth. She joined the show's live tour in 2020, but it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, it was announced that Flannery would star in the comedy film Plan B, alongside Jon Heder, Tom Berenger, and Shannon Elizabeth.
In 2024, Flannery competed in season eleven of The Masked Singer as "Starfish". She was eliminated on "Queen Night" alongside Charlie Wilson as "Ugly Sweater".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Can't Stop Dancing | Tonia | |
| 1999 | Trick | Ridiculous Writer | |
| 2000 | Amy Stiller's Breast | Reporter | Short film |
| 2002 | Life Without Dick | Crampy Legs Partygoer | |
| 2003 | Carolina | Café Waitress | |
| 2005 | The Heir Apparent | Heidi | Short film |
| 2005 | I'm Not Gay | Secretary | Short film |
| 2006 | Danny Roane: First Time Director | Marla | |
| 2007 | Jesus People | Sharon Nyenhuis | Short film |
| 2007 | Wild Girls Gone | Reading Circle #4 | |
| 2009 | Coco Lipshitz: Behind the Laughter | Reporter | Short film |
| 2009 | You | Airline Counter Girl | |
| 2010 | Finger Babies | Teacher | Video short |
| 2012 | Love or Whatever | Rosemary | |
| 2014 | At the Devil's Door | Rosemary | |
| 2014 | Break Point | Commonwealth Rep | |
| 2014 | Helicopter Mom | Norma | |
| 2014 | Cooties | Charman | |
| 2015 | Emergency Contact | Carol | Short film |
| 2015 | Dial a Prayer | Cora's coworker | |
| 2015 | Slow Learners | Principal Miller | |
| 2016 | 4th Man Out | Karen | |
| 2017 | How to Get Girls | Linda Fox | |
| 2018 | Fishbowl California | Susan | |
| 2018 | Stuck | Ms. Jenkins | |
| 2020 | Golden Arm | Randy | |
| 2022 | The Prank | Loretta | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Spyder Games | Bunny | Recurring role (5 episodes) |
| 2002 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Cop #2 | Episode: "The Corpse-Sniffing Dog" |
| 2002 | Saturday Night Live | Lucy | Voice, episode: "Al Gore/Phish" |
| 2003 | Boomtown | Tracey | Episode: "Inadmissable" |
| 2004 | Crossballs: The Debate Show | | Episode: "Plastic Surgery: Nip-pocalypse?" |
| 2004 | The Bernie Mac Show | Christopher's Mom | Episode: "Stiff Upper Lip" |
| 2005–2013 | The Office | Meredith Palmer | Main role (187 episodes) |
| 2006 | The Office: The Accountants | Meredith Palmer | Episode: "Meredith" |
| 2008 | The Office: The Outburst | Meredith Palmer | Episode: "The Explanation" |
| 2008 | Iron Chef America | Herself, judge | Episode: "Morimoto vs. Mason" |
| 2009 | Rise and Fall of Tuck Johnson | Nikki Strokums | |
| 2009 | The Office: Blackmail | Meredith Palmer | |
| 2009 | The Jay Leno Show | Wendy / Mrs. Claus | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Wizards of Waverly Place | Elaine Finkle | Episode: "Wizards vs. Finkles" |
| 2010 | The Office: The 3rd Floor | Meredith Palmer | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | The Soup | Brenna | Episode: "The Soup Awards" |
| 2011 | The Christmas Pageant | Beverly Simmons | Television film |
| 2011 | The Life & Times of Tim | Irene / Jean Gillis | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Jessie | Corporal Cookie | Episode: "G.I. Jessie" |
| 2015–2018 | Steven Universe | Barb Miller | Voice, 5 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Another Period | Anne Sullivan | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | "Mean" Marge Bronigan | Episode: "Adrian Pimento" |
| 2016 | New Girl | Mary Ellen | Episode: "Hubbedy Bubby" |
| 2016 | Disengaged | Chef | Super Deluxe web series; episode "Food and Wine" |
| 2016 | American Housewife | Crossing Guard Sandy | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Kevin (Probably) Saves the World | Ann Russo | Episode: "How to Be Good" |
| 2017–2019 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Carol | Voice, main role |
| 2018 | All Night | Principal Saperstein | 9 episodes |
| 2018 | Liza on Demand | Karaoke Woman | Episode: "MoJoe" |
| 2019 | Young Sheldon | Nurse Nora | Episode: "A Tummy Ache and a Whale of a Metaphor" |
| 2019 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | 9 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Summer Camp Island | Georgina | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2021 | That Girl Lay Lay | Mitzy | Episode: "Lay Lay the Legendary" |
| 2021 | Magnum P.I. | Erin | Episode: "Texas Wedge" |
| 2022 | PBC | Jessica | |
| 2023 | Kiff | Agnes | Voice, episode: "Farley" |
| 2023 | Is It Cake? | Herself / Judge | Episode: "S'more Cake Please" |
| 2024 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Guest diner; Episode: "#HellishHangover" |
| 2024 | The Masked Singer | Herself/Starfish | Season 11 contestant |
| 2025 | Night Court | Marge | season 3 episode 6 "The Jakeout" |

#### Dancing with the Stars performances

| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Result |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Result |
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "She Works Hard for the Money" | 5 | 5 | 5 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Foxtrot / "Fly Me to the Moon" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Quickstep / "9 to 5" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Argentine Tango/ "Hands to Myself" | 7 | 7$^1$/6 | 6 | Safe |
| 5 | Jazz / "A Spoonful of Sugar" | 8 | 8 | 8 | No Elimination |
| 6 | Viennese waltz / "I Have Nothing" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 7 | Rumba /"Wicked Game" Team Freestyle / "Sweet Dreams" | 8 8 | 8 8 | 8 8 | Bottom Two |
| 8 | Jive /""Heat Wave"" Cha-Cha-Cha / "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" | 8 Won | 8 Dance | 8 Off | Eliminated |
$^1$ Score given by guest judge Leah Remini.

## Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations received by Kate Flannery :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2018 | Behind the Voice Actors Awards | Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Guest Role | Steven Universe | Nominated |
| 2018 | Behind the Voice Actors Awards | Best Vocal Ensemble in a New Television Series | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Nominated |
| 2006 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Year | The Office | Nominated |
| 2007 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Year | The Office | Won |
| 2008 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Year | The Office | Nominated |
| 2009 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Year | The Office | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Won |
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Won |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated |
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated |
| 2011 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated |
| 2012 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Office | Nominated |
| 2008 | TV Land Awards | Future Classic Award | The Office | Won |