Phyllis Smith

---

title: "Phyllis Smith" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1949-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses", "actresses-from-st.-louis", "american-burlesque-performers", "american-cheerleaders", "american-dancers", "american-erotic-dancers", "american-female-dancers", "american-female-erotic-dancers", "american-film-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "american-voice-actresses", "american-women-comedians", "annie-award-winners", "comedians-from-st.-louis", "nfl-cheerleaders", "st.-louis-cardinals-(football)", "actors-from-st.-louis-county,-missouri", "university-of-missouri-alumni", "university-of-missouri–st.-louis-alumni"] description: "American actress (born 1949)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Smith" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress (born 1949) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Phyllis Smith
image	Phyllis Smith FOX 2 St. Louis (cropped).JPG
caption	Smith in 2014
birth_date
birth_place	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
alma_mater	University of Missouri–St. Louis
occupation	Actress
years_active	1994–present
::

| name = Phyllis Smith | image = Phyllis Smith FOX 2 St. Louis (cropped).JPG | caption = Smith in 2014 | birth_date = | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | alma_mater=University of Missouri–St. Louis | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1994–present Phyllis Smith (born August 15, 1949) is an American actress and casting director. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series The Office and her voice role as Sadness in Pixar's animated franchise Inside Out.

Early life and education

Smith was born on August 15, 1949, in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Cleveland High School.

Smith graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in elementary education. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a dancer, a cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals football team, and a burlesque performer. She said that there was "no stripping, but I did wear feathers." She was forced to quit dancing after suffering a knee injury. She later worked in Hollywood, California as an actress and in casting.

Career

Smith was working as a casting associate under the direction of Allison Jones on the television series The Office, when she was offered the role of Phyllis Lapin, a character created specifically for her, a soft-spoken saleswoman who tended to disagree with pompous office manager Michael Scott. She received Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006 and 2007 for her performance in The Office in the category "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series". In June 2008, she appeared with the cast of The Office on Celebrity Family Feud.

In 2011, Smith played a supporting role in the film Bad Teacher. In 2015, she voiced the character Sadness in the Pixar film Inside Out, receiving high critical praise for her performance. In 2016, she starred as Betty Broderick-Allen in the Netflix series The OA. She reprised her role as Sadness in Inside Out 2 in 2024.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With	Marsha
2011	Bad Teacher	Lynn
Butter	Nancy
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked	Flight Attendant
2015	Inside Out	Sadness (voice)	Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Riley's First Date?	Short film
2021	Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar	Delores
2024	Inside Out 2	Sadness (voice)
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Arrested Development	Carla	Episode: "The Immaculate Election"
20052013	The Office	Phyllis Vance	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (20072008)
Nominated Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (20092013)
2006	The Office: The Accountants	Episode: "Phyllis"
2008	The Office: The Outburst	Episode: "The Explanation"
2013	Trophy Wife	Mrs. Patty Steinberg	3 episodes
2014	The Middle	Mrs. Huff	Episode: "The Sinkhole"
20162019	The OA	Betty Broderick-Allen	12 episodes
2024	Chad	Herself	Episode: "Class President"
Dream Productions	Sadness (voice)	4 episodes
::

Video games

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0	Sadness	Voice
2024	Disney Speedstorm	Voice
::

Production work

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Position	Notes
1999	Roswell	1 episode
2000–2002	Spin City	45 episodes
2005	Curb Your Enthusiasm	10 episodes
The Office	Assistant Casting Director	6 episodes
::

References

References

1. (15 August 2022). "Today's famous birthdays list for August 15, 2022 includes celebrities Jennifer Lawrence, Joe Jonas". [[Associated Press]].
2. (February 2012). "St. Louis Hometown Stories: Phyllis Smith, Actress".
3. Tracy, Linda. (Fall 2008). "It's never just another day at the office for UM-St. Louis alumna Phyllis Smith". University of Missouri-St. Louis.
4. "Office Ladies: The Pilot on Apple Podcasts".
5. Grose, Jessica. (June 23, 2011). "Questions for Phyllis Smith". Slate.
6. Ge, Linda. (December 12, 2016). "Brit Marling's Netflix Series "The OA" Promises Mystery in First Trailer Video". The Wrap.
7. (June 14, 2024). "'Inside Out 2' Voice Cast Guide: Who Voices the Emotions?".
8. (2015). "[[Disney Infinity 3.0]]".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::