PERFORMER | Karen Prell |
DEBUT | 1980 |
DESIGN | Ed Christie designer and builder |
Deena is a young, energetic pink monster with red hair and wild rolling eyes, like Cookie Monster's. She talks in monster grammar: "Deena wants to play!" She lives in a cave with Pearl, who functions as her caretaker.
Deena and Pearl debuted in Season 12 of Sesame Street, [1], with Deena first being seen in the opening scene of the second episode of the season. The characters virtually vanished after that season, but they did pop up occasionally.
The puppet would later become an AM monster.
The character was created by Norman Stiles. In an interview, he spoke of the character:
Deena was named after a friend of Norman Stiles'.[3]