Phirman majored in theater at SUNY Geneseo and graduated in 1997. After moving to New York City in 1998 she became involved with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater where she was a part of the improv sketch group Respecto Montalban. Phirman teaches sketch comedy writing and improv, and has performed in two-person shows like Eye Candy (with Danielle Schneider), which went to the 2002 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and Special Delivery (with Paul Scheer), a parody of a British children’s show in which postal workers rummage through people’s mail in search of heartwarming lessons and edibles. She and Scheer won a 2004 Nightlife Award for Automatic Vaudeville, called “the best variety show in New York City” by Time Out New York. She has since collaborated with creative partner Danielle Schneider on other sketch shows such as Let’s Get Awkward and Dead Heiresses at the Los Angeles UCB, as well as a five-woman improv show Mother F#[email protected] Dead Heiresses was also developed as a pilot for Comedy Central in 2007.

Dannah (pronounced “Donna”) is married to musical comedian Mike Phirman (the “Phirm” half of the comedy duo Hard n’ Phirm). Their son Milo Phirman was born on September 4, 2009.

Phirman and Schneider created the Hulu reality TV parody series The Hotwives and were writers on the NBC sitcoms Marry Me and Telenovela. In 2017, Phirman and Schneider worked as writers and producers on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as well as on the TruTV sitcom I’m Sorry.