Phyllis Smith portrays Dunder Mifflin customer sales representative Phyllis Lapin on NBC’s “The Office.”

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Lapin is a former St. Louis Cardinals Cheerleader.

She got her start in the entertainment industry working for casting agencies with clients such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Arrested Development,” Freaks and Geeks,” “Spin City,” Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman,” and NBC’s pilot of “The Office.” While working for Allison Jones casting during the pilot screen testing for “The Office,” the executive producers enjoyed Smith’s line delivery so much that they cast her in the pilot. She is now a series regular.

Additional acting credits include “Arrested Development,” the box office comedy hit “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and the soon to be released independent film “I Want to Eat Cheese with Someone.”

Smith received full scholarships in dance from Kansas University and Tulsa University where she attended during high school and college. She studied with Marjorie Mendolia of the San Carlo Opera Company for ballet and tap, and eventually became a teacher. Smith was a ballet dancer with The St. Louis Civic Ballet and The St. Louis Dance Theater and a professional jazz dancer under Raoul Appel.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education degree from University of Missouri, St. Louis. She has toured the country as a dancer with a Vaudeville Burlesque show, Able’s Baggy Pants Burlesque and the Mercer Brother’s show “Giggles Galore, not only as a dancer but a comic skit performer. In addition to her love of dance, Smith has worked various odd jobs to pay the bills. She was a pre-school teacher for three years, a J.C. Penney’s warehouse worker, a movie theater ticket taker, and a receptionist for an aerospace defense company, where she earned the coveted “Employee of the Year” award. Smith has been a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) member for more than eighteen years and currently lives in Los Angeles.