Janet Roth (née Sarkisyan) is a Ukrainian-American stand-up comedian and actor, recognized for her dynamic performances in both drama and comedy, including her roles in Beyond the Trophy and Scorpion.
Born in Ukraine to a Ukrainian-Armenian family of engineers, she spent part of her teen years studying in Germany before immigrating to the United States as a teenager. Janet’s love for acting sparked at the age of eight when she was cast as a witch in Goethe’s Walpurgis Night — an experience that turned her curiosity into a lifelong calling.
After earning her degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Janet further developed her craft under the guidance of Eric Morris and other renowned acting coaches in Los Angeles. A few years into her career, a series of unexpected, life-changing events led her to discover a gift for stand-up comedy. Her comedy special, Extremely Analytical, was released in 2021 and is available on Amazon and major streaming platforms.
Fluent in Ukrainian, and Russian and German, Janet loves performing in a variety of accents. Her stage credits in Los Angeles include Picasso’s Women, in which she portrayed Picasso’s muse Françoise Gilot, and The Vagina Monologues, where she embodied a Bosnian woman sharing her story of survival through war.
Today, Janet mosty performs as Valentina Brainova — a character she created as a response to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.