Melissa Peterman brings her comedic talents to the hit comedy Reba as the impossibly perky, yet always loveable Barbra Jean, who is married to Reba's ex-husband.
Peterman hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from Minnesota State University with theater as one of her majors, she was cast as Madeline Monroe in Hey City Theater's production of Tony & Tina's Wedding. After more than 600 performances, she went on to work as a writer and performer at the improvisational comedy theater The Brave New Workshop, which boasts such alumni as Louie Anderson, Peter Tolan and Al Franken. While with the Brave New Workshop, she also performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and the Big Stink Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas.
Peterman made her film debut in the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning movie Fargo. She has also appeared in the comedies Recipe For Disaster, How High and Cook-Off! Peterman remains loyal to her comic roots as the host of 15 Minutes of Fem, a comedy showcase for women presented at the Egyptian Theatre. She continues to write her own material and has a one-woman show in the works.
On television, she appeared in the Oxygen sketch comedy show Running With Scissors and guest-starred on Just Shoot Me and The Pitts.
During her summer hiatus from Reba, Peterman hosted The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long, reprising her hosting gig from last summer's The Wizard of Oz Sing-A-Long at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Peterman can also be seen on the World Cup Comedy Challenge television series and on the celebrity edition of Trading Spaces, with her Reba husband, Chris Rich.
She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, fellow actor John Brady.