About Violet

Violet Tinnirello is an American actor, singer, and dancer from New York’s Hudson Valley who is known for her work as Charlie on Sesame Street. 

She is the recipient of the 2023 and 2022 Young Entertainer Award – Best Recurring Young Actress in a Television Series for her work on Sesame Street. As a lifelong fan of all Jim Henson’s work, it was a dream come true when Tinnirello was cast to play the first child cast member on Sesame Street in nearly 20 years. Violet has appeared in five seasons of the show in nearly 40 episodes. She is honored to teach others and share her Jewish heritage through her character, Charlie.

She began her performance career at the age of four and has appeared in many commercials including Lunchables, Red Lobster, Stop & Shop, Holiday Inn, Nickelodeon, Lego, NBC’s America’s Got Talent and HAPPY! – the book and videos by Pharrell Williams. Tinnirello has appeared in short films including A Force for Good, which is about the universal power of compassion. She appears on Cyberchase on PBS as Alex and has been seen on Saturday Night Live multiple times (with Kristin Stewart, John Mullaney, Saoirse Ronan and more).

 Tinnirello loves to perform on the live stage. Throughout the Broadway labs, workshops, and even the run at the iconic Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, Violet spent over two years working on Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz. She loved playing the role of Shirley Temple and showcasing her tap-dancing skills – her favorite dance style. She also sang and danced in the cabaret style shows both at The Laurie Beechman Theater and Stage 72 at The Triad. In a tribute to Broadway’s return, Violet joined a cast of Broadway kids in “We’re Gonna Come Back”, directed by Janine Molinari. She performed at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Broadway in the Berkshires hosted by Richard Kind. 

Violet has an active voiceover career that started when she was six years old. She voiced the characters “Cappie” on Nick Jr’s Wallykazam and “Penny” in the Nickelodeon short, The Thing About Babies. More recently, Violet joined the cast of Excessive, a dark romantic comedy created by Emmy Award winning writer, Dan Robert and starring SNL’s Chloe Fineman. Violet voices the role of young Chloe Fineman in this Audible Original project. Violet is no stranger to hosting and interviewing on the podcast circuit. She frequently co-hosts “Conversations Radio with Mike Dowler” and has also appeared as a special guest. 

In the spring of 2020, Tinnirello was cast in a made-for-TV-movie by Almost Never Films, directed by Danny Roth. Violet and the company traveled to Oklahoma where A Country Romance became the first live action production to film in North America since the pandemic halted production.  Violet also appeared as Charlie in “The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special” released on PBS and HBO Max in 2020. 

Tinnirello can be seen in Season 4 of What We Do in the Shadows on Hulu and FX and can also be seen on ABC’s What Would You Do with John Quinones.  

When she is not performing and training, Tinnirello enjoys drawing, playing piano and ukulele. She is studying fashion design and using her skills to design clothing and wardrobe for the theatre. Violet is a member of the tap company at Shuffles NYC. She enjoys all styles of dance and choreographing works for stage and screen along with teaching tap to all ages. Violet enjoys the outdoors, traveling and spending time with her family. She is represented by Bonnie Shumofsky Bloom at Stewart Talent.