Jennifer Barnhart is one of the puppeteers who was in the original cast of Avenue Q. She was the performer of Mrs. Thistletwat and the girl bear of the Bad Idea Bears. She also assisted with characters such as Nicky and Trekkie Monster. Her assisting job in the show required her to handle every character in the show at least once, with the exception of the Newcomer at the end.
She is one of the very rarely seen left-handed puppeteers.
She remained in the production until its closing on Broadway in September 2009. She rejoined the cast of the Off Broadway production at New World Stages in Spring 2010 for a few months and was replaced by Becca Ayers.
Barnhart has many puppetry and acting credits including Sesame Street, Between the Lions, Johnny and the Sprites, Law and Order: SVU, Oobi, The Book of Pooh, and Bear in the Big Blue House.
She recieved her BFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut.