Biography for
Harriet Sansom Harris More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Birth Name

Mini Biography

Born in Texas, Harriet Sansom Harris got involved in acting as a youngster. At seventeen, Harris was accepted at New York's famed Juilliard School. Upon graduation, Harris joined The Acting Company, a repertory group formed by the first alumni of John Houseman's Drama Division of The Juilliard School. She spent three years with the Company before she left to work primarily in regional theater. This led to a successful Broadway and Off-Broadway career. Her life changed after appearing as the sole female in the original cast of "Jeffrey", Paul Rudnick's smash Off-Broadway hit about love in the time of AIDS. "Jeffrey" led to guest shots on series television, including "Frasier" (1993), where she created the memorable role of "Bebe Glazer", Frasier's cutthroat, neurotic, chain-smoking agent. She also won raves from critics for her role of "Vivian Buchanan" on CBS's "The 5 Mrs. Buchanans" (1994). She now calls New York her home, but frequently travels to California for film and television appearances.

Trivia

Went to Juilliard at 18.

Made her debut with the New York Philaharmonic in April 2003 in the role of Beatrice in a concert staging of Berlioz's opera "Beatrice and Benedict." David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane on "Frasier" (1993)) played Benedict opposite Harris.

Received a 2002 Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award as Featured Actress in a Musical for portrayal of Mrs. Meers in the Broadway adaptation of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

Won the 2006 Ovation Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in "On the Town".

Sansom is her mother's maiden surname.

Personal Quotes

My mother once said that my first words were 'Tony Award.' Being Texan, she was prone to exaggeration. I think it was something more like 'Me, me, Tony.' - excerpt from her 2002 Tony Award acceptance speech

[I was raised] in Fort Worth, Texas. There's a lot of indigenous theater there now, but when I was growing up, the only place to see anything was the Casa Mañana Theatre that Billy Rose started. That burned down and the community wanted a theater again so they commissioned Buckminster Fuller to build this big geodesic dome, which was theater in the round. That's where I grew up watching musicals. It was so exciting and it's something I'd never been able to do until now. When I was little I thought, "What could be more fun than that? What could be more exciting than theater?

Where Are They Now

(June 2002) Received the Tony as Featured Actress in a Musical for "Thoroughly Modern Millie," as well as the Drama Desk Award.

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