Iris Bahr is an American actress, comedian, director, writer, author, producer and host of the X-RAE podcast. She is best known for her recurring role as Rachel Heinemann on Curb Your Enthusiasm, her solo showDAI , and her TV seriesSvetlana, which she wrote, directed, starred in and produced alongside Mark Cuban.
Bahr guest starred on a variety of television shows, including guest appearances on Strong Medicine, The Drew Carey Show, Friends, and The King of Queens, as well as recurring character Rachel Heinemann on Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2006, Bahr appeared in her first movie lead role in playing Amy Butlin in Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector alongside Larry the Cable Guy. In May 2006 she had a supporting role as Leonard Hofstadter's co worker in the unaired pilot of The Big Bang Theory. In November 2006, she opened her one woman showDai at the Culture Project in New York City. In the show, she plays ten different characters in a Tel Aviv cafe moments before a suicide bomber enters. Bahr received the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Performance for Dai, which also earned 2 Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Solo show and Best Sound Design. She also received a UK Stage Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Bahr was invited to perform Dai at the United Nations for over 100 ambassadors and delegates. In 2007, Bahr was a part of the controversial film Poughkeepsie Tapes. In this she plays an interviewed news broadcaster. She moved to Los Angeles after a city truck injured her when it collided with her bicycle on Great Jones Street in New York. Bahr's memoir entitled Dork Whore was published in 2007, and was translated into German, Italian and Portuguese. It became a bestseller in Germany. The sequel, Macchu My Picchu chronicles her travels through South America. She co-wrote Book of Leon, which came out in 2018, with comic JB Smoove. Bahr was a series regular on the Israeli TV series Irreversible. Bahr did voice acting work for the Star Trek computer games ', ' and ', released in 2000, 2003 and 2001 respectively. She followed this up with an appearance on the last episode of ', "Endgame" in 2001. She also voiced the character of Madeline Taylor in . Bahr also had a weekly commentary on NPR's Los Angeles affiliate KCRW entitled "Social Studies", featuring one of her characters - Svetlana, Russian lady of the night and proprietor of the "St. Petersburg House of Discreet Pleasure." Svetlana was also a recurring guest on The Marc Maron Show, and has done regular pieces for Kurt Andersen's show on WNYC's Studio 360. She is the host of the X-RAE podcast as her alter ego Rae Lynn Caspar White, a "Southern Intellectual, professional baby surrogate and sexpert". Her guests have included Lawrence O'Donnell, Doug Liman, Neuroscientist Moran Cerf and various comedians and artists.
