Karen Leigh Prell is an American puppeteer and animator. Born in Florida, she first worked with Jim Henson in 1979 in small roles on Sesame Street. She subsequently worked on the final season of The Muppet Show, assisting and playing various bit parts (such as the title character in "Rockin' Robin"). She also performed Deena and others on Sesame Street in the early 1980s, but made her greatest contribution performing Red Fraggle on Fraggle Rock.
Prell also performed in the Creature Shop films: Dreamchild and Labyrinth. During the latter film, she first became romantically involved with future husband Mike Quinn, as they made each other's goblins flirt during lulls in shooting.
In 1997, Prell transitioned into computer animation, working on several Pixar projects, including the shorts Geri's Game and For the Birds and the feature films A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2. Recent animation credits have included some of the CGI animation in Disney's Enchanted, work for Tippett Studio on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Son of the Mask, and Frank Oz's The Stepford Wives.
Demonstrating that her affection for the Muppets has not waned, however, Prell attended MuppetFest in 2001, resplendent in a homemade Red Fraggle cap, and also participated in Fraggle Rock DVD box set bonus features. In 2005, she reprised her role of Red Fraggle, in voice over, as the host of "Fraggle Challenge", a bonus feature on the Doin' Things That Doozers Do and Down in Fraggle Rock DVDs.
Prell recently worked as an additional puppeteer in The Muppets.
