Phyllis Smith

Phyllis Smith is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series The Office and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness in the film Inside Out. She also had a regular role on the Netflix series The OA.

Smith graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in elementary education.[2] In the 1970s and 1980s, she worked as a dancer, a cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals football team, and a burlesque performer.[3] She said that there was “no stripping, but I did wear feathers.”[4] She was forced to quit dancing after suffering a knee injury. Following this, Smith worked briefly as a telemarketer, lasting only three hours before resigning. She later worked in Hollywood, California, as an actress and in casting. Smith’s first paid acting role was as an extra in the film Caddyshack.