TVKIDS
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has revealed it will be presenting Fran Brill with the Lifetime Achievement Honor at the third annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards on March 15.
Brill was the first female Muppet performer after Jane Henson to be hired by Jim Henson. She joined Sesame Street in its second season and created and performed the characters of Zoe and Prairie Dawn. Her other work includes The Muppet Show, Saturday Night Live, Dog City, CinderElmo and more.
Brill has also appeared Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and Playwrights Horizons and was twice nominated for the Drama Desk Award.
Her film credits include Midnight Run, City Hall, What About Bob? and Being There. She has guest starred in many prime-time dramas, such as several Law & Order series, Third Watch and Against the Law.
“Ms. Brill has enjoyed a stellar career, from creating iconic and loveable Muppet characters to voice acting on cartoons, including Doug and Sheep in the City, which has brought so much joy to children and their families,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO of NATAS. “We’re honored to fête her in front of so many of her peers and fans.”
“I am honored and humbled to be recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which has done so much to advance the arts and sciences of television,” Brill commented. “My years of working on Sesame Street, under the leadership of cultural icons Jim Henson and Joan Ganz Cooney, made an enormous contribution to the person I became. I feel both fortunate and proud to have created characters that live on today, and I hope young people continue to look to Sesame Street and pursue careers in puppetry; there is no other medium like it.”
NATAS also unveiled the list of 2025 Gold and Silver Circle inductees. Those being added to the Gold Circle have performed distinguished service within the TV industry for 50 years, while those inducted to the Silver Circle have been setting standards in the industry for 25 years.
Charlie Adler, voice director and actor for Disney, Nickelodeon, Sony and Cartoon Network, and Hedda B. Sharapan, child development consultant for Fred Rogers Productions, are being inducted into the Gold Circle. The Silver Circle welcomes Richard A. Fernandes, VP of original series (Noggin) at Paramount; Carol Greenwald, senior executive producer at GBH Kids; Susette Hsiung, executive VP of studio production and network programming operations at Disney Branded Television; Linda Simensky, head of character development and scripted content at Duolingo; Halle Stanford, executive producer at The Jim Henson Company; and Steven Vincent, senior VP of music and soundtracks at Disney Branded Television.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate and welcome this new group of television industry legends into the Gold and Silver Circle,” Sharp said.
