Heather Beth Henson (born December 19, 1970) is an American contemporary puppet artist, the daughter of

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. She serves on

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

, The Jim Henson Legacy, and the

Jim Henson Foundation The Jim Henson Foundation was founded by puppeteer and Muppet creator Jim Henson to promote and develop puppetry in the United States. Since 1992 Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson has served as the president for the Foundation. It is the only ...

Boards of Directors. She is also a Trustee of the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

in Connecticut.

Early life

Henson was born on December 19, 1970, in New York City, the youngest child of

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

(1936–1990) and

Jane Henson Jane Ann Henson (née Nebel; June 16, 1934 – April 2, 2013) was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson. Early life Jane Ann Nebel was born and raised in St. Albans, Queens, she met Henson when she was a senior and he a freshman at th ...

(1934–2013). She has four siblings:

Lisa Henson Lisa Marie Henson (born May 9, 1960) is an American television and film producer and former actress who has been involved in television shows such as ''Sid the Science Kid''. She is the CEO of The Jim Henson Company, founded by her parents Jim an ...

(born 1960),

Cheryl Henson Cheryl Lee Henson (born August 7, 1961) has served as the President of the Jim Henson Foundation since 1992. She is a philanthropist and supporter of puppetry arts and artists, and serves as a board member of The Jim Henson Company. She was hon ...

(born 1961),

Brian Henson Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, voice actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson. Early life Henson was born on November 3, 1963, in Ne ...

(born 1963), and John Henson (1965–2014).

Career

Henson is a graduate of

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grow ...

and the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, and attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

. Her on-screen appearances include the ''Number Three Ball Film'' and ''

The Muppets Take Manhattan ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' is a 1984 American musical comedy drama film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performance, the film features special appearances by Ar ...

'', '' The Storyteller'' episode "Hans My Hedgehog," the role of Prince Kermit in ''

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (german: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). ...

'', as well as

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

's film Little Shop of Horrors. Heather is the owner of IBEX Puppetry which is an entertainment company dedicated to promoting the art of puppetry in all of its various mediums, including stage, cinema and gallery exhibitions. IBEX projects include ''Handmade Puppet Dreams'', The Orlando Puppet Festival, The Puppet Slam Network and environmental spectacles including "Panther and Crane," a drama about preserving the Florida ecosystem in modern times.

References

External links

Ibex Puppetry Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, Heather 1970 births American puppeteers California Institute of the Arts alumni Henson family (show business) Jim Henson Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Rhode Island School of Design alumni The Jim Henson Company people