Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Abby Cadabby, Tango)
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is a multi-faceted performer who has been nominated for five Emmy Awards for her work on Sesame Street as Abby Cadabby.
Six-time Emmy nominee Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is a multi-faceted entertainer, puppeteer, visual and voice-over artist, writer and producer who grew up creating characters.
She is best known for performing Abby Cadabby and Elmo’s dog Tango on Sesame Street.
A graduate of San Francisco State University where she designed her major, BA, Child Development Through The Arts, Leslie created and implemented programs for kids at risk before getting her start as a puppeteer on ABC’s Muppets Tonight. She’s starred in a variety of shows on PBS, Nickelodeon, Apple TV, Netflix and in The Muppets and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Leslie designed and performed an original show for Disney, a, sold out NYC cabaret residency, and her off Broadway musical “Wake Up Your Weird,” which she developed at the Ojai Playwright’s Conference and the O’Neill Puppetry Conference, receiving grants from The Jim Henson Foundation and an UNIMA Citation of Excellence. She’s even collaborated with her Emmy-winning husband Paul Rudolph to create songs for Sesame Street.
Leslie continues to bridge the generation gap, touring with her signature character candy-loving, 5-year-old Lolly Lardpop to schools, conventions, fundraisers and even twice to Google as a keynote speaker in their Learning and Development Conference. She loves reaching the young and young at heart with her own style of weird whimsy.
My work throughout my career in both teaching and entertainment has been focused on “spreading joy through the arts,” helping people and communities navigate life creatively. Whether I’m performing for children or adults, in outreach programs or cabarets, I always try to shine a light on humanity with storytelling, music, art, and comedy. I’m excited to be starting a new adventure and introduce “Humor With A Heart Productions” co-created with my writing partner Jamie Donmoyer. I also spend a great deal of time collaborating to create music with my husband Paul Rudolph and playing with my dog Newhart.
