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Elizabeth Stamatina Fey was born in 1970 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, to Xenobia "Jeanne" (Xenakes), a brokerage employee, and Donald Henry Fey, who wrote grant proposals for universities. Her mother is Greek, born in Piraeus, while her father had German, Northern Irish, and English ancestry. Going by the name of Tina, Fey considered herself a "supernerd" during her high school and college years. She studied drama at the University of Virginia, and after graduating in 1992, she headed to Chicago, the ancestral home of American comedy. While working at a YMCA to support herself, she started Second City's first set of courses. After about nine months, a teacher told her to just skip ahead and audition for the more selective Second City Training Center. She failed but about eight weeks later, she re-auditioned and got into the year-long program. She ended up spending many years at The Second City in Chicago where many SNL cast members first started out. Then in 1995, Saturday Night Live (1975) came to The Second City's cast, including Fey's friend, Adam McKay, as a writer, searching for new talent. What they found was Tina Fey. When Adam was made Head writer, he suggested Fey should send a submission packet over the summer with six sketches, 10 pages each. Tina took the advice and sent them. After Lorne Michaels met her and saw her work she was offered a job a week later. She admitted that she was extremely nervous working in the legendary Studio 8H; being a foot shorter than everyone else, younger, and being one of the only female writers at the time. After a few years, Tina made history by becoming the first female head writer in the show's history. Tina also made her screen debut as a featured player during the 25th season by co-anchoring Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon. Since Tina and Jimmy have taken over Weekend Update it has been considered the best ever. This year she made it to full fledged star by becoming a regular cast member, though she is hardly on the show, besides Update. And during the past two summers, Tina and Rachel Dratch performed their two-woman show to critical acclaim in both Chicago (1999) and New York (2000) and made their Aspen Comedy Festival Debut. Tina is married to Jeff Richmond, a Second City director and lives in New York City.- Actress
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Amy Meredith Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to high school teachers Eileen Frances (Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler. Her brother is comedian Greg Poehler. She is of Irish (from her mother) and English, Irish, German, and Portuguese (from her father) descent. Amy was first involved with sketch comedy when she joined the group My Mother's Flea Bag when she was attending Boston College. In 1993, she went to Chicago where she studied at Second City and Improv Olympics. There, she met Del Close, who later became the voice of the UCB opening scene. In 1996, she joined the Upright Citizen's Brigade with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. Later on, the group moved to New York and became a Comedy Central show. The show went on only for three seasons. However, the group stayed together at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater. Today, the theater is one of the leading centers for improv and sketch shows.
After the Upright Citizens Brigade (1998) sketch show came and went, Amy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) in 2001. By the end of Christmas break of that year, she became a regularly featured performer. She has brought a slew of great performances on every show, such as impersonations of celebrities such as Kelly Ripa or Sharon Osbourne. When Jimmy Fallon left at the end of the 2003-04 season, Amy joined Tina Fey as a co-anchor for Weekend Update. Her Hollywood star is also growing bright, as she has done several feature films, including Blades of Glory (2007) with her then-real-life husband and Arrested Development (2003) star Will Arnett; and the Farrelly brothers-directed remake of The Heartbreak Kid (1993), in which she stars alongside another Arrested Development (2003) star, Jason Bateman.
Among her 2010s film starring roles are Sisters (2015), with Tina Fey, and The House (2017), with Will Ferrell. Having played one of her first roles in the indie Wet Hot American Summer (2001), she reprised her role in the television mini-series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017).
Amy was married to Canadian actor and comedian Will Arnett from 2003 to 2016. The couple have two children.- Actress
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Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her mother, Margarita Vergara Dávila de Vergara, is a housewife. Her father, Julio Enrique Vergara Robayo, provides cattle to the meat industry. She has five siblings. She was educated at a private bilingual Spanish/English school. She then went on to study pre-dentistry. However, Sofía was discovered by a photographer, whilst at the beach, and this led to various jobs in modeling and television. At age 23, she was a runway model. From 1995 to 1998, she co-hosted a travel show, Fuera de serie (1995), which gave her exposure in the United States. Her first film role was the criminal comedy Big Trouble (2002). Her breakthrough role was as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the American television series Modern Family (2009). In 2010-2013, she received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for this role. Sofía resides in Los Angeles, California with her son, Manolo.- Actress
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Rachel Bloom is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for co-creating and starring in the tv series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" for which she has won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice and a TCA Award.
She was born in 1987 and hails from Manhattan Beach, California. Rachel attended NYU, Tisch School of the Arts in New York City for theater. After graduating from NYU in 2009 with a B.F.A. in drama, Rachel continued to study improv and sketch at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NY.
In 2010, Rachel released her first Internet music video, "F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury", which went viral and was nominated for a Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form." While working as a tv writer in Los Angeles she continued to make Internet music videos which eventually caught the eye of Rachel's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" co-creator, Aline Brosh McKenna.
On May 13, 2013, Bloom released her first album of musical comedy, Please Love Me, which included the viral songs "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" and "You Can Touch My Boobies".
On November 19, 2013, she released her second album Suck It, Christmas, which featured a comedic look at Chanukah and included the song "Chanukah Honey".
On December 17, 2013, Bloom was the voice of Princess Peach in the song "Luigi's Ballad" on Starbomb's self-titled debut album. Bloom co-wrote "Super Friend" performed by Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin, featured on the musical crossover episode of Supergirl and The Flash titled "Duet" and the soundtrack released from the episode.
On April 25, 2016, Bloom was awarded the "Visionary Award" at the annual gala held by East West Players, the longest-running professional theatre of color[clarification needed] in the United States. The award seeks to honor "individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft"; her show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was lauded for its decision to cast an Asian-American male in a trope and stereotype-subverting lead role.
Bloom has worked as a television writer on Allen Gregory and Robot Chicken.
Rachel Bloom co-starred in the film Most Likely to Murder, opposite Adam Pally and Vincent Kartheiser. The film was directed by Dan Gregor, Bloom's husband. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2018, and was released on Digital and on Demand in May 2018.
On November 18, 2020, Bloom was awarded the Lifesaver Award from ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel, a nonprofit aiding youth in distress in Israel, at its Hats off to Heroes virtual gala.- Actress
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Nasim Pedrad (born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney (2014), Scream Queens (2015), People of Earth (2016), and New Girl (2011).
Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Muslim family. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Pedrad's family emigrated to the United States in 1984 when she was three years old. Her younger sister is comedy writer Nina Pedrad. Both sisters are fluent in Persian. The sisters were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.
Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.
Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2000). In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner (2007). She had a recurring role on ER (1994) as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).
Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009-2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011-12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.
In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory (2011). She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached (2011). In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax (2012) and a small appearance in The Dictator (2012). In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013). In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.
Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.
In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).- Actress
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Sarah Silverman was most recently the host of the two-time Emmy-nominated weekly topical series, I Love You America, which streamed on Hulu and also received a Writers Guild Awards nomination.
Silverman is currently working on a musical adaptation of her 2010 memoir and New York Times Bestseller called The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee. The musical, The Bedwetter, will premiere Off Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company in April 2020.
On-stage, Silverman continues to cement her status as a force in stand-up comedy. In May 2017, she released her latest standup special A Speck of Dust on Netflix, which culminated in two Emmy Award nominations and a Grammy Award nomination. In 2013, she debuted her hour-long HBO standup special Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles, which earned her the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special." The special received an additional Primetime Emmy Awards nomination that year for "Outstanding Variety Special" in addition to a Writers Guild Awards nomination. In September 2014, Silverman released the special as an audio album through Sub Pop Records, which went on to receive a 2015 Grammy Awards nomination for "Best Comedy Album." Previously, Silverman made an impressive splash with her concert-meets-comedy film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, which garnered major attention at the Toronto Film Festival.
In the film world, Silverman was most recently seen opposite Emma Stone and Steve Carell in the critically-acclaimed film Battle of the Sexes, which was based on the true story of the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. She also starred in I Smile Back, the film adaptation of the Amy Koppelman novel. The drama premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was later released in theaters by Broad Green Pictures. Silverman received much praise for her role as "Laney Brooks," culminating in a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role." Her additional film credits include The Book of Henry, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Ashby, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Take This Waltz, Gravy, Peep World, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, The School of Rock, There's Something About Mary, The Way of The Gun. Silverman also lent her voice as "Vanellope" in the Oscar-nominated smash hit Wreck It Ralph and Golden Globe nominated Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Silverman was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of a fictionalized version of herself in her Comedy Central series The Sarah Silverman Program. This marked Comedy Central's first ever Emmy nomination in a scripted acting category. Silverman also received a Writers Guild Award nomination for her work on the show. In 2008, Silverman won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics" for her musical collaboration with Matt Damon. Additionally, she was honored with a Webby Award for "Best Actress" for her online video "The Great Schlep," in which she persuaded young kids to encourage their grandparents in Florida to vote for President Obama prior to the 2008 Presidential Election.
Silverman has made memorable guest appearances on a number of acclaimed and notable television shows, including Monk, which earned her a 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards nomination for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series." Silverman also lends her voice to Emmy Award-winning FOX animated series Bob's Burgers. Her additional television work includes buzzed-about roles on HBO's Crashing, Masters of Sex, The Good Wife, The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld, and Mr. Show with Bob and David. Silverman has hosted a number of major awards shows, including the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Silverman grew up in New Hampshire and attended one year of New York University. In 1993 she joined Saturday Night Live as a writer and feature performer and has not stopped working since.
She currently lives in Los Angeles.- Actress
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Zooey Deschanel was born in 1980 into a showbiz family. Her father, Caleb Deschanel, is an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer (perhaps most notably for The Passion of the Christ (2004)) and her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir), is an actress who appeared in Twin Peaks (1990). Her paternal grandfather was French, and her other roots include English, German, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch.
Driven from an early age to become a successful actress, Zooey got her big break, at age 17, playing a model in the TV sitcom, Veronica's Closet (1997). She got her first film role, the following year, in Mumford (1999), which prompted her to quit university to pursue acting full-time. Mostly thanks to a role in Cameron Crowe's popular biopic, Almost Famous (2000), Zooey's rise to fame has been steadily increasing as the 21st century wears on. Her distinctive acting style found her critical acclaim in 2003, when she was voted Best Actress at the Mar Del Plata Film Festival for her role in David Gordon Green's All the Real Girls (2003). She also gained a Best Female Lead nomination (for All the Real Girls (2003)) at the following year's Independent Spirit Awards, but lost out to Charlize Theron.
Zooey has appeared in such films as 500 Days of Summer (2009), Our Idiot Brother (2011), Yes Man (2008) (opposite Jim Carrey), Elf (2003) (opposite Will Ferrell), Your Highness (2011), The Happening (2008) (opposite Mark Wahlberg), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) and is the star of the FOX sitcom, New Girl (2011).
Zooey is often compared to golden era Hollywood starlets and is also a talented singer. She has said in interviews that she believes her singing ability was pivotal in gaining the role of "Jovie" in Elf (2003). She also sang (and acted) in the Disney-produced musical, Once Upon a Mattress (2005).- Actress
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Cameron Diaz, an American actress, was born in 1972 in San Diego, the daughter of a Cuban-American father and a German mother. Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. Returning to California at the age of 21, she was working as a model when she auditioned for a big part in The Mask (1994). To her amazement and despite having no previous acting experience, she was cast as the female lead in the film opposite Jim Carrey. Over the next 3 years, she honed her acting skills in such low budget independent films as The Last Supper (1995); Feeling Minnesota (1996); and Head Above Water (1996). She returned to main stream films in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), in which she held her own against veteran actress Julia Roberts. She earned full fledged star status in 1998 for her performance in the box office smash There's Something About Mary (1998). Cameron Diaz appears to possess everything necessary to become one of the super stars of the new century.- Actress
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Cecily Strong was born on 8 February 1984 in Springfield, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), Schmigadoon! (2021) and Ghostbusters (2016).- Actress
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Melissa Ivy Rauch was born in Marlboro, New Jersey. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she received a BFA degree. While going to school, Melissa performed stand-up comedy around Manhattan, and soon made a name for herself on the NYC comedy scene. Her one-woman show, "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush", in which she portrayed Jenna Bush Hager, the former President's daughter, garnered critical acclaim and played to sold-out audiences (Outstanding Solo Show and TheaterMania's Audience Favorite Award--New York International Fringe Festival/HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival).
Melissa resides in Los Angeles, California, with Winston Rauch, her husband and writing partner.- Actress
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Aidy Bryant was born on 7 May 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), Shrill (2019) and Human Resources (2022). She has been married to Conner O'Malley since 28 April 2018.- Actress
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Dawn was educated at a weekly boarding school in Plymouth and spent the weekends with her grandparents who lived nearby She never felt at home at the school as it was too posh. She met Jennifer Saunders while training to be a teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama and became flat mates and started writing together. When the Comedy Store opened they started attending and it was there that she met Lenny Henry who she later married.- Actress
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Jennifer Saunders was born July 6, 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, to Jane, a biology teacher, and Robert Thomas Saunders, an RAF pilot. She attended Central School of Speech and Drama where she met her comedy partner Dawn French. Like many of the early 80s groundbreaking "alternative" comedians she began her career as comedienne/actress/writer with Dawn French at "The Comedy Store" in London, where she met fellow comedians Adrian Edmondson (later her husband), Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle and Peter Richardson, who later opened his own club, "The Comic Strip", where these comedians quickly formed a regular format.
The Comic Strip team were transferred to television screens with great success as they all starred alongside each other in The Comic Strip Presents (1982). After The Comic Strip she starred in a few episodes of The Young Ones (1982), Girls on Top (1985) and Happy Families (1985). Afterwards she and Dawn French wrote a TV show of their own, French and Saunders (1987), which was an immense success due to the double act's genius writing, brilliant acting performances and hilarious spoofs of world famous blockbusters and bands.
It was in one of the episodes of "French and Saunders" that the audience had the pleasure of watching a sketch about an uptight daughter and a crazy, neurotic mother that became a comedy classic sitcom. When the BBC next asked Saunders to write something, she just couldn't come up with any ideas, so she decided to expand on that sketch, making it more outrageous and therefore funnier - Absolutely Fabulous (1992) was born.
Perhaps by coincidence Saunders had created one of the most loved, funny, and creative TV Shows in BBC history. Three series were made, in 1995 the show was put on hold until Saunders began writing again and came back with a fourth series in 2001. She is always ready for charity as well, she has been doing "Comic Relief" with a lot of her comedy companions ever since 1986. Jennifer Saunders, one of the most loved TV faces in Britain, will hit the screens with her fifth series of Absolutely Fabulous in 2003.- Writer
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Amy Beth Schumer is an American comedian, writer and actress from Manhattan who is known for Trainwreck, Last Comic Standing, Snatched, Expecting Amy, Price Check, I Feel Pretty, The Humans and Inside Amy Schumer. She is married to chef Chris Fischer and had a son. Slated to appear as the iconic role in the 'Barbie' movie she pulled out due to creative differences.- Actress
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Melissa McCarthy was born in Plainfield, Illinois, to Sandra and Michael McCarthy, and was raised on her family's corn and soybean farm. She began her performing career as a stand-up comedian in New York where she appeared at the famous clubs, Stand Up New York and The Improv. She worked on her acting skills at The Actors Studio and appeared in many stage productions in the city before moving to Los Angeles in the late-1990s. She made a number of TV and movie appearances before making her big breakthrough as Sookie in Gilmore Girls (2000). A steady stream of comedy performances followed, leading to her starring role in the sitcom Mike & Molly (2010).
In the 2010s, McCarthy became known for her starring roles in the films Bridesmaids (2011), The Heat (2013), St. Vincent (2014), Spy (2015), Ghostbusters (2016), and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018).- Actress
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Katy Mixon is an American actress. She began her career playing supporting roles in films such as "The Quiet" (2005), "Four Christmases" (2008), and "State of Play" (2009), before landing the female leading role in the HBO comedy series "Eastbound & Down" (2009-2013).
From 2010 to 2016, Mixon starred as Victoria Flynn, sister to Melissa McCarthy's character, on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly." She had dramatic parts in films "Take Shelter" (2011), "Drive Angry" (2011), and "Hell or High Water" (2016), and did voiceover work in "Minions" (2015). From 2016 to 2021, Mixon starred as the lead character Katie Otto in the ABC comedy series "American Housewife."- Actress
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Jane Krakowski was born in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, to Barbara (Benoit), a college theater instructor, and Edward Krajkowski, a chemical engineer. Her father was of Polish descent and her mother has French-Canadian and Scottish ancestry.
Jane was the winner of the 2003 Tony Award for her stunning and sultry portrayal of "Carla", in the Broadway musical "Nine", opposite Antonio Banderas. Her performance also earned her the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critic's Award. Krakowski also stars in Alfie (2004), the remake of the famous 1966 film, alongside Jude Law. Krakowski recently filmed Pretty Persuasion (2005) starring Evan Rachel Wood and James Woods. Other recent film credits include When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003), Go (1999), The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) as "Betty Rubble", Dance with Me (1998), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), Stepping Out (1991), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Vacation (1983). For television, Jane received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her portrayal of "Elaine Vassal" on Ally McBeal (1997).
She also stars in NBC's remake of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004), opposite Kelsey Grammer. Other recent television credits include: Law & Order (1990), Everwood (2002), the ABC family movie Just a Walk in the Park (2002), and the miniseries, Queen (1993) (aka Alex Haley's "Queen"). Other Broadway credits include "Grand Hotel" (Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee), "Company", "Once Upon a Mattress", "Tartuffe" and "Starlight Express". In Los Angeles, California, she starred at the Mark Taper Forum in "Henceforward", for which she won the LA Drama Critics Award and the Dramalogue Awards, and played "Mabel" in the Reprise production of "Mack and Mabel". In addition to singing on several original Broadway cast recordings of shows in which she appeared, and the Ally McBeal (1997) Christmas episode compilation CDs, Krakowski also recorded the hit single track "You" with A/C hitman Jim Brickman on his recent album "Lovesongs and Lullabies".- Actress
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Kathryn McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984), known professionally as Kate McKinnon, is an American actress and comedienne, who is best known as a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live and The Big Gay Sketch Show, and for playing the role of Dr. Jillian Holtzmann in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot.
McKinnon is known for her character work and celebrity impressions of pop singer Justin Bieber, comedian television host Ellen DeGeneres, and political figures Hillary Clinton, Kellyanne Conway, Elizabeth Warren, Betsy DeVos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Robert Mueller, and Jeff Sessions. She has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards; one for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and four for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2016 and 2017.
Kathryn McKinnon Berthold was born and raised in the Long Island town of Sea Cliff, New York. She is the daughter of Laura Campbell, a parent educator, and Michael Thomas Berthold, an architect. She has a younger sister, Emily. Her father died when she was 18 years old.
As a child, McKinnon played several instruments. She started playing the piano when she was 5 years old, the cello when she was 12, and taught herself how to play the guitar when she was 15. She graduated from North Shore High School in 2002, and from Columbia University in 2006 with a theater major, where she co-founded a comedy group, Tea Party, which focused on musical improv comedy. At Columbia, she starred in three Varsity shows: V109 "Dial D for Deadline", V110 "Off-Broadway" and V111 "The Sound of Muses". She was also a member of Prangstgrüp, a student comedy group who set up and recorded elaborate college pranks.
In 2007, McKinnon joined the original cast of Logo TV's The Big Gay Sketch Show, where she was a cast member for all three seasons. Since 2008, she has performed live sketch comedy regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. She has also worked as a voice-over actress, and has voiced characters for series such as The Venture Bros., Robotomy, and Ugly Americans. In 2009, McKinnon won a Logo NewNowNext Award for Best Rising Comic. She was nominated for an ECNY Emerging Comic Award in 2010. In 2014, she appeared in the Kennedy Center Honors as part of a tribute to Lily Tomlin. In 2016, she starred in the reboot Ghostbusters, alongside Melissa McCarthy, and fellow SNL cast members Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones. In 2017, McKinnon is attached to star in Amblin Entertainment's Lunch Witch, an adaptation of a young adult graphic novel by Deb Lucke. She has been set to play the title role of Grunhilda, an out-of-work witch who takes a job in a school cafeteria to make ends meet. McKinnon voices the character of Ms. Frizzle in the reboot of the Magic School Bus children's series.
McKinnon debuted as a featured player on Saturday Night Live on April 7, 2012. She was promoted to repertory status in season 39 in 2013. Following the departure of Vanessa Bayer, McKinnon is now the longest serving female cast member.
In 2013, McKinnon was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress, Comedy. McKinnon won the 2014 American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actress, TV for her work on SNL. In 2014, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics along with four of her colleagues for the song "(Do It On My) Twin Bed". She was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the second time in 2015. She eventually won the very next year, becoming the first actor from SNL to win the award since 1993.
McKinnon began appearing as Hillary Clinton on the series leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The real Clinton appeared alongside her in a sketch during the show's season 41 premiere. McKinnon has said that her impression of Hillary Clinton comes from a place of deep admiration, and that "[she] unequivocally want her to win" the 2016 presidential election. On November 12, 2016, which was the first show after Clinton's loss in the election, she reprised the role to open the show with a solo performance of "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, whose death was announced two days before her performance. After the election, McKinnon began to impersonate Kellyanne Conway alongside Alec Baldwin as Trump. On February 11, she debuted her impression of Elizabeth Warren during Weekend Update and Jeff Sessions in the cold open.- Actress
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Michaela is currently a main company member of The Groundlings in Los Angeles.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Michaela pursued a life in regional theater.
She received her BFA from Boston University School For the Arts.
Her father is a math professor at Syracuse University, and her mother teaches Latin in the Boston area.- Actress
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Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born November 21, 1945 in Washington, D.C. to Laura Hawn, who owned a dance school, and Rut Hawn, a band musician. She has one sister, entertainment publicist Patti Hawn; a brother, Edward, died in infancy before her birth. She was raised in the Jewish religion. Her mother was Jewish and the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. Her father was Presbyterian. At the age of three, Goldie began taking ballet and tap dance lessons, and at the age of ten she danced in the chorus of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of "The Nutcracker". At the age of 19 she ran and instructed a ballet school, having dropped out of college where she was majoring in drama. Before going into the film business she worked as a professional dancer.
Hawn made her feature film debut in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), with a small role as a giggling dancer. Her first big role came in 1969, where she played opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in Cactus Flower (1969), a role which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. After the Oscar win her career took off and she followed with roles in successful comedies such as There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) and Shampoo (1975), and more dramatic roles in The Girl from Petrovka (1974) and The Sugarland Express (1974). In 1978, she starred alongside Chevy Chase in the box office hit, Foul Play (1978). In 1980 she starred in another box office hit, Private Benjamin (1980), where she also served as producer. During the 1980s she starred in hit movies such as Best Friends (1982), Protocol (1984) and Wildcats (1986). In 1987, she appeared with her boyfriend Kurt Russell in Overboard (1987), which became both a critical and box office disappointment. Her career slowed down after that until 1990 when she starred alongside Mel Gibson in Bird on a Wire (1990). In 1992 she starred in the successful film, Death Becomes Her (1992), with Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis, which was followed by another successful film HouseSitter (1992), which co-starred Steve Martin. In 1996 she played the role of an aging alcoholic actress in the comedy, The First Wives Club (1996), with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler; it became a critical and financial success. She also starred in the Woody Allen film Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and The Out-of-Towners (1999), which reunited her with Martin. In 2001 and 2002 she starred in Town & Country (2001) with Warren Beatty, and The Banger Sisters (2002) with Susan Sarandon.
Goldie has been married twice. First to dancer/director Gus Trikonis from 1969 to 1973. In 1976 she married musician Bill Hudson and became a mother for the first time that year, when she gave birth to their son Oliver Hudson. In 1979, she had her second child with Hudson, daughter Kate Hudson. The marriage ended in divorce in 1980. Since 1983, she has been having a relationship with actor Kurt Russell. Their son Wyatt Russell was born in 1986. Goldie is also a de-facto stepmother to Kurt's son Boston Russell. She has eight grandchildren.- Actress
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Megan is an only child born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Martha, was a model, and her father, Carter Mullally Jr., was a contract player for Paramount. Megan first entered Northwestern University intending to study acting, but switched to English literature. However, she still ended up starring in several campus musicals, which gained attention from producers and prompted her to drop out of school. In 1985, she moved to Los Angeles with no particular success. But, in 1994, she co-starred in "Grease" on Broadway with Rosie O'Donnell and, in 1995, in "How To Succeed In Business" with Matthew Broderick. Her star has been rising ever since. Her band Nancy and Beth have recorded two albums and tour extensively. She has directed four music videos for Nancy and Beth, which can be found at nancyandbeth.com.- Actress
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Mae was born in Los Angeles, California to Pat Musick, a voice artist, and Jeffrey Whitman, a personal manager and set construction coordinator. She began her career with a voice-over for a Tyson Chicken commercial. Whitman attended Ribét Academy, a private preparatory school in Los Angeles.
Whitman made her first silver screen debut playing Meg Ryan's youngest daughter, "Casey Green", in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Among her notable childhood roles were that of "Patricia Whitmore", daughter of the President in Independence Day (1996); George Clooney's daughter, "Maggie Taylor", in One Fine Day (1996); and the charming daughter, "Bernice Pruitt", of Sandra Bullock, in Hope Floats (1998).
As she has grown older, Mae has made several guest appearances in television shows such as JAG (1995), State of Grace (2001), Desperate Housewives (2004), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), just to name a few, as well as some voice-over work.
In 2015, she starred in the movie The Duff (2015) portraying a high school student who realized she is the approachable one, the designated ugly fat friend, the DUFF.
We should expect to see great things from Mae Whitman as her career progresses, for she has shown what a strong, dynamic, and talented actress she has become.- Producer
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Laura Kightlinger is a writer, stand-up comic, and actor. Her comedic roles include self-obsessed mom Deb Taylor in "PEN15" on Hulu, and Nurse Shelia in "Will & Grace". She's been a consulting producer on "Will & Grace" since its inception. Laura created and starred in her own critically acclaimed TV show on IFC, "The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman", and was a series regular on HBO's "Lucky Louie". She has voiced several characters in "Lego Batman", "Ninjago", and is the voice of Dr. Scott in "Dr. Katz: The Audio Files". As a stand-up comic, she's had several half-hour specials on Comedy Central and HBO. At the recent JFL Comedy Festival, Kightlinger was heralded in the Montreal Gazette as "a femme fatale deadpan who took risks leading the audience into hilariously unexpected territory."
Her book, Quick Shots of False Hope, described by the New York Times Book Review as a "memorable, disturbing, and darkly comic debut", is being adapted for film and television.
"Sixty Spins Around the Sun", the documentary Kightlinger directed, chronicling activist Randy Credico's fight to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws, won 'Best Documentary' in the Boston, Empire State, Black Maria, and Beverly Hills Film Festivals. Laura won 'Best Director' for her first short film, "Dependable People", at the Black Maria Film Festival. Other shorts she's written and directed include: "Cat Demon: Re-Exhumed", "American Heroine", "Roy Fabcock: Legendary Lover", "Exposition 7", "Laura Gets Adopted", the three-episode short series: "Cat Guys" starring Frank Conniff and Eddie Pepitone, and the stop-motion thriller "The Scrap County Murders".- Actress
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Missi Pyle was born Andrea Kay Pyle on November 16, 1972 in Houston, Texas, and was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. The daughter of Linda and Frank Pyle, she has four older siblings, sisters Debbie and Julie, and brothers Sam and Paul. Pyle attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated in 1995. Since then, Pyle has had a significant career in many films and television series. She has also established in parallel a singing career as a member of the country-rock band Smith & Pyle with actress Shawnee Smith.
Pyle has started an acting career playing a minor role in the comedy film As Good as It Gets (1997) starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. Her following notable roles were in the sci-fi parody Galaxy Quest (1999), Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) where she played her first role as a villain, Tim Burton films Big Fish (2003) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) starring Johnny Depp and Christopher Lee, Just My Luck (2006) starring Lindsay Lohan, and Soccer Mom (2008) where she had a double role. Pyle has also played guest roles on many television series such as Mad About You (1992) also starring Helen Hunt, Frasier (1993), The One with Ross' Teeth (1999), Ally McBeal (1997), three episodes of Two and a Half Men (2003), three episodes of Boston Legal (2004), Grey's Anatomy (2005), two episodes of Heroes (2006), and two episodes of The Mentalist (2008). Pyle is also an occasional voice actress, and has voiced characters in one episode of series Family Guy (1999) and two episodes of American Dad! (2005).
Pyle began a career as a singer when she met Shawnee Smith in 2007 while filming an ABC comedy pilot. Pyle stated that her dream was to be in a rock band, and Smith gave her the opportunity by creating the country-rock band Smith & Pyle in Los Angeles, California. Their debut album "It's OK to Be Happy" (2008) was recorded in Joshua Tree, California and was released under their own record label when they became business partners. Their first live performance was in Texas on January 18, 2008 and since then, the band performed in many other states, especially in West Virginia, until May 29, 2010 in California. In 2011, the actresses officially disbanded before their second album was completed.- Actress
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Jennifer Coolidge is a versatile character actress and experimental comedienne, best known for playing Stifler's mom in American Pie (1999).
She was born on August 28, 1961, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Gretchen (Knauff) and Paul Constant Coolidge, a plastics manufacturer. Young Coolidge was dreaming of becoming a singer. She attended Norwell High School and Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and earned her bachelor's degree in theatre in 1985. She moved to New York and joined the Gotham City improv group. Then, she headed to Los Angeles where she became a long-running member of "The Groundlings" comedy troupe. Coolidge made her television debut in a guest role on NBC's Seinfeld (1989), playing a voluptuous masseuse who won't offer her professional services to boyfriend Jerry in a 1993 episode. The following year, she had a regular gig on ABC's short-lived sketch series She TV (1994), then briefly became a cast member and writer on another short-lived sketch comedy series, Fox's Saturday Night Special (1996) produced by Roseanne Barr.
Coolidge made her big screen debut as a nurse in Not of This Earth (1995), then in the courtroom comedy Trial and Error (1996). Then, she appeared in small roles in several more feature films, and also continued her television work. Coolidge had her breakthrough role in American Pie (1999), as a boozed-up and sultry mom who seduces her son's classmate with the comment that she liked her scotch and men the same way: aged 18 years. She recreated the character in the sequel American Pie 2 (2001). Then, she reprized her role as "Paulette" opposite Reese Witherspoon in the "Legally Blonde" franchise. Although, she lost the part of "Lynette Scavo" on Desperate Housewives (2004) to Felicity Huffman, Coolidge graced several TV comedies as well, with major guest appearances on Frasier (1993) and Sex and the City (1998). Then, she landed a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Joey (2004), as "Bobbie Morgenstern", Joey's agent, appearing in 37 episodes over two seasons.
Eventually, Coolidge emerged as a versatile character actress with her no-holds-barred approach to comedy and her vanity-free comfort with playing uninhibited, unappealing characters, and delivering lines with sexual innuendo. Her talent shines in a range of characters, from a gold-digging dog owner in Best in Show (2000), to a scheming wife of an elderly mogul in Down to Earth (2001), to an opportunistic mother in American Dreamz (2006). Coolidge's gift for altering her appearance and manner, as well as her mastery of timing, shines in her perfectly hideous performance as "Fiona", a wicked stepmother in A Cinderella Story (2004) opposite Hilary Duff, for which Coolidge won a 2005 Teen Choice Award. Her lasting collaboration with director Christopher Guest continues in For Your Consideration (2006).
She has been sharing her time between her two homes, one is in Hollywood, California, and one in New Orleans, where she bought a historic mansion before the Hurricane Katrina hit the city, and then became involved in its restoration.- Actress
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Sara Rue was born in New York City, New York. She is an actress and producer, known for Popular (1999), Less Than Perfect (2002), The Ring (2002), The Big Bang Theory (2007), Rules of Engagement (2007), Malibu Country (2012), and Pearl Harbor (2001). She stars in the upcoming TV Land comedy, Impastor (2015) (summer 2015) as "Dora Winston", alongside Mircea Monroe, Mike Kosinski, David Rasche and Michael Rosenbaum. She currently resides in Los Angeles, with her husband, Kevin Price, and daughter, Talulah Rue Price.- Actress
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She is best known for Nostalgia Critic (2007) , Tamara's Never Seen (2016) and Tamara Just Saw (2017). Born on February 7, 1991 (age 31) in Nipomo, California. Is the oldest of the Chambers kids and has been apart of the Nostalgia Critic show since 2014, while also having a guest appearance in the Catwoman review that was released on the show in 2013. She also has her own YouTube channel and is also a cosplayer who does her own style for the costumes.- Actress
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Jackée Harry was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and reared from the age of nine in Harlem, New York, by her mother, Flossie. At the tender age of fourteen, Jackée landed the lead role of the King in her school's production of The King and I. Upon graduation from New York City's High School of Music and Art with a distinction in Opera, Jackée attended the University of Long Island, where she earned her B.A. degree in education.
Jackée began her career as a history teacher at Brooklyn Technical High School but left after two years to pursue a career in acting. She studied acting at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side and made her professional acting debut in 1973 in Richard Wesley's Goin' Through Changes; not long afterward, she made her Broadway debut in A Broadway Musical as Melinda Bernard.
In 1983, Jackée made her television debut opposite Morgan Freeman in the daytime soap opera Another World. A year later, she landed her iconic role of Sandra Clark on the NBC sitcom 227. As the breakout star of the series, Jackée became the first African American to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Her performance on 227 inspired NBC producers to create a television pilot for her entitled Jackée. After departing 227 in 1989, she starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in the critically acclaimed adaptation of Gloria Naylor's novel The Women of Brewster Place.
In 1991, Jackée joined an all-star cast led by Della Reese when she played the role of Ruth 'CoCo' Royal in The Royal Family. From 1994-1999, she starred as the adoptive mother of Tia and Tamara Mowr and y's characters on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister, winning the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. Jackée also made guest appearances on Amen, Designing Women, Dave's World, Hollywood Squares, 7th Heaven, and That's So Raven, before joining the cast of Everybody Hates Chris in 2006.
Hollywood success did not lead Jackée to turn her back on theater; in 1994 she returned to the stage as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, and in 2003 she played the role of the Madam in The Boys From Syracuse on Broadway. More recently, Jackée performed before sold-out audiences across the nation in the J.D. Lawrence stage play The Cleanup Woman.
More recently Jackée has starred in The First Family on Centric and has had a recurring role on BET's Let's Stay Together.- Actress
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Regina Hall was born December 12, 1970 in Washington, D.C., to Ruby, a teacher, and Odie Hall, a contractor. She graduated from Fordham University in 1992, and went on to earn a master's degree in journalism from New York University before shifting to an acting career. In 1997 at age 26, she began appearing in commercials, and then made the giant leap into movies. Her fame came with her role in the comedy-horror spoof Scary Movie, Regina Hall has frequented the big screen in roles that far from betrayed her age. Her recurring role in Scary Movie and the sequel Scary Movie 2 exhibited the 30-year-old's ability to maintain her youthful appearance, as she portrayed the high-school-aged Brenda Meeks. However, her first film role was in the 1999 film The Best Man. The following year, she made many other film appearances, including her starring role in Scary Movie in 2000. She first had a role in the movie Love and Basketball which also starred close friend Sanaa Lathan. In 2001, Hall's list of credits grew to include her first television role, as Corretta Lipp on the prime-time drama Ally McBeal, which was a recurring role for several episodes. Furthermore, in 2001 Scary Movie 2 was released, in addition to the Mandel Holland comedy The Other Brother, featuring Hall as Vicki. One year later, she starred in the action-drama Paid in Full, directed by Charles Stone III. She would later on start in other films such as;Malibu's Most Wanted, Scary Movie 3, The Honeymooners, and First Sunday.- Actress
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Sasheer Zamata is a comedian, actress and writer. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and This American Life. She serves as ACLU's Celebrity Ambassador for Women's Rights. She hosts a live variety show called Sasheer Zamata Party Time, and you can watch her standup special Pizza Mind on Amazon Prime and Starz, and listen to it on iTunes and Spotify.
She's been listed in Time Out New York's Top 10 Funniest Women in NYC, Brooklyn Magazine's 50 Funniest People in Brooklyn, and Complex Magazine's Women in Comedy You Should Be Paying Attention to Right Now.
She co-created and co-starred in the webseries Pursuit of Sexiness, which was named one of the Top 10 Web Series of 2013 by Variety, and part of Glamour's 7 Web Series We Can't Stop Watching in 2015.
She's performed at Clusterfest, Just for Laughs (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), Bonnaroo, SXSW, Moontower Comedy Festival, Outside Lands, SF Sketchfest, Vodafone Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Brooklyn Comedy Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, Woodstock Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, Great American Comedy Festival, and Women in Comedy Festival.- Actress
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Sarah Baker was born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Sarah is an actor, known for The Kominsky Method (2018), The Campaign (2012) and Big Little Lies (2017).- Kanako Yanagihara is known for Kids Police (2013), Yajima Biyôshitsu the movie: Yume o tsukama Nebada (2010) and Maboroshi no Yamataikoku (2008).
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Jolene Purdy was born on 9 December 1983 in Redondo Beach, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The White Lotus (2021), WandaVision (2021) and Orange Is the New Black (2013). She has been married to Chuck Brandt since 2007. They have one child.- Actress
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Brooke Elliott was the star of Lifetime's hit television series Drop Dead Diva for six seasons. For her work on Drop Dead Diva (2009) , she received the 2012 Women's Image Network Award for "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series" as well as the 2010 Gracie Award for "Female Rising Star in a Comedy Series". She was also nominated for a 2014 and a 2011 PRISM Award for "Best Performance in a Comedy Series" as well as a 2009 Satellite Award for "Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical". Brooke began her career in theatre, making her Broadway debut in the Boy George composed/Rosie O'Donnell produced musical, Taboo, where she moved from the ensemble to the leading role of Sue. She later appeared in Schonberg and Boublil's original Broadway musical, The Pirate Queen. She was in the original cast of the First National Tour of Wicked as well as the Broadway tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Brooke also directed Season 1 of the web-series, Say Hello.- Actress
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After graduating with a B.F.A in Theatre Performance from Miami University of Ohio, Lindsay moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. Almost a year later, she was cast as Christine Banks in Fox's hit show Boston Public and was submitted for Emmy consideration in the category of Outstanding Guest Star. This led to numerous other guest appearances on such shows as ER, Strong Medicine, Any Day Now, Popular, and as Susan Adamson on NBC's popular daytime series Days of Our Lives.
Lindsay has also completed work in 18 films; most notable would be her role opposite Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway in Get Smart as Max's Dance Partner in a now-iconic dance scene. Lindsay can be found in Pee Wee's Big Holiday produced by comedy legend Judd Apatow and available on Netflix.
In addition, Lindsay has written several feature films and TV shows and created/wrote/starred in two seasons of her own web series, Breaking Fat. She also adapted the comedic version of the popular film BloodRayne, called Blubberella, and played the title character (produced and directed the controversial German filmmaker Uwe Boll).
Lindsay has a production company with good friend Katherine VanderLinden: Lead's Best Friend Productions.- Actress
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Margaret Cho was born on December 5, 1968 in San Francisco. Her grandfather was a Methodist minister who ran an orphanage in Seoul during the Korean War. Ignoring the traditions of her patriarchal culture, her mother bravely resisted an arranged marriage in Korea & married Margaret's father, who writes joke books in Korean.
What she did know is that she didn't love being a kid. Racing toward adulthood to escape bullying, she began writing jokes for stand up at 14 & professionally performing at 16. Getting picked on & feeling disenfranchised's a subject that's very near to her heart. She has become a sort of patron saint for outsiders, speaking for them when they are not able to speak for themselves.
Soon after starting her career, she won a comedy contest where first prize was opening for Jerry Seinfeld. She moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s & hit the college circuit, where she immediately became the most booked act in the market, garnering a nomination for Campus Comedian of The Year. She performed over 300 concerts within 2 years. Arsenio Hall introduced her to late night audiences, Bob Hope put her on a prime time special & seemingly overnight, she became a national celebrity.
Her groundbreaking, controversial & short-lived ABC sitcom All-American Girl soon followed. Oddly, while chosen because of who she was-a non-conformist Korean-American woman w/ liberal views-the network decided it wanted her to tone it down for the show. Challenging her feelings for both who she was & how she looked, she soon realized that though she was an executive producer, it was a battle she wouldn't win.
The experience was a traumatic one, bringing up unresolved feelings left over from childhood. She developed an eating disorder as a response to criticism about her body. She was so obsessive in her goal to try to be what she thought others wanted, she landed in the hospital w/ kidney failure. Throughout a period of self-abuse, she continued performing to sold-out audiences across the country in comedy clubs, theaters & on college campuses, working to channel her anger in to something more positive.
In 1999, her groundbreaking, off-Broadway one-woman show, I'm The One That I Want, garnered national acclaim. It was made into a best-selling book & feature film. After her experience w/ All-American Girl, she wanted to make sure she would only have to answer to herself, making sure she was responsible for the distribution & sales of her film, taking a page from what music artist Ani DiFranco did w/ her Righteous Babe Records. The concert film, which garnered incredible reviews, broke records for most money grossed per print in movie history. In 2001, after the success of her first tour, she launched Notorious C.H.O., a smash-hit 37-city national tour that culminated in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. It was recorded & released as a feature film, hailed by the New York Times as "Brilliant!" Both films were acquired by Showtime Cable Networks & produced by her production company, a testament to the success of her bold business model.
In March of 2003, she embarked on her third sold-out national tour, Revolution. It was heralded by the Chicago Sun Times as "Her strongest show yet!" The CD recording was nominated for a Grammy for Comedy Album of the Year. In 2005, she released Assassin, which The Chicago Tribune crowed "Packs passion in to each punch." The concert film premiered in select theaters as well as on the gay & lesbian premium channel Here! TV in late 2005.
In 2007, she hit the road w/ Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry & Erasure, along w/ indie faves The Dresden Dolls & The Cliks, to host the True Colors Tour, benefiting the Human Rights Campaign. A true entertainment pioneer, she also created & starred in The Sensuous Woman, a live variety show featuring vaudevillian burlesque & comedy, which she took for an extended off-Broadway run that fall.
She returned to TV in 2008 on the VH1 series, The Cho Show. It followed her, her real parents & her eccentric entourage through a series of irreverent & outrageous experiences shaped by her 'anything goes' brand of stand-up. It was beloved for the audience it was intended for, the ones who maybe don't quite fit in.
The aptly titled Beautiful came next, exploring the good, bad & ugly in beauty as well as the unattractive politicians & marketers who shape our world. The concert premiered in Australia at The Sydney Theater, marking the first time she debuted a tour abroad. While touring through the U.S., the concert was filmed at the Long Beach theater, aired as a special on Showtime in 2009, then released as both a DVD & a book.
In 2009, she nabbed a starring role in the comedy/drama series Drop Dead Diva, which aired on Lifetime. She enjoys being part of a team, not necessarily having the sole responsibility for keeping things afloat.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, she stepped right up to the proverbial plate when asked to do Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars. Paired w/ pro Louie Van Amstel, she was on 1 of the show's most controversial seasons, dancing alongside Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, David Hasselhoff, Jennifer Grey & Bristol Palin among others.
She got a very strong reaction to her Rainbow Dancing Dress during a time when the issue of bullying, especially among gay teens, was all over the media.
2010 culminated w/ another high honor, a second Grammy Award nomination for Comedy Album of the Year for Cho Dependent, her collection of music featuring collaborations w/ Fiona Apple, Andrew Bird, Grant Lee Phillips, Tegan & Sara, Ben Lee & more. The album received critical acclaim.
She self released Cho Dependent on her own Clownery Records & was encouraged by the acclaim, as there were only a handful of people putting out albums of comedy music-"Weird" Al Yankovic, Flight of the Conchords, The Lonely Island, to name a few-but no women. While thrilled that her hard work was rewarded w/ the nomination, she wasn't finished w/musical comedy yet, claiming to have more music in her.
In 2011, she released the live concert film of Cho Dependent, which also had its cable network debut on Showtime. Audiences who caught these performances live can attest that she hasn't lost any of her edge on Cho Dependent, her sixth live concert DVD. Shot at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. She remains uncensored, but never unhinged: taking aim at the Palin family, appearing on Dancing w/ the Stars, smoking pot & living in a world w/ sexting' The DVD's no-holds-barred Margaret & instantly a classic.
She then filmed the sixth & final season on Drop Dead Diva. She returned as "Teri" Girl Friday to Brooke Elliott's Jane Bingham, whose body's inhabited by the soul of a vapid model sent back to earth after Heaven judges her as a zero-zero for having committed no good & no bad deeds. Drop Dead Diva's not only beloved on Lifetime, but by the many stars who have lined up to guest on the show such as Paula Abdul, Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, Vivica Fox & Kim Kardashian.
Not one to rest on her laurels, she spent whatever free time she had crafting her all new stand-up show Mother, which kicked off in September 2012, including both a U.S. & European tour.
Paradox not lost, she re-scheduled some of the shows she had booked mid-September so she could attend the Emmy Awards w/ her mother, having been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her stint on 30 Rock as gender-bending North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
In 2014, she filmed a pilot for FOX & was thrilled to work w/Tina Fey as well as the producing team from 30 Rock. The multi-camera comedy takes place at a women's college that had just opened its doors to men for the first time.
While thrilled w/ her 2 Grammy & recent Emmy nomination, she has never turned away from the causes that are important to her. She's active in anti-racism, anti-bullying & gay rights campaign. She has been recognized for her unwavering dedication, receiving the Victory Fund's 2008 Leadership Award & the first ever Best Comedy Performance Award at the 2007 Asian Excellence Awards. She also received the First Amendment Award from the ACLU of Southern California & the Intrepid Award from the National Organization for Women (NOW). Throughout her career, she has been honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio & Television, the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF) & PFLAG for making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity. In June 2011, she was honored by L.A. Pride w/ a Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing an individual whose lifetime body of work has left a lasting major imprint on the LGBT community.
Through her hard work, she has had the opportunity to be heard, to extend her point of view & become regarded as a true pioneer in her field. She takes none of it for granted.- Actress
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Rebel Wilson was born in Sydney, Australia, to a family of dog handlers and showers. She trained at the Australian Theatre for Young People and at Second City in the US. After a successful stage and television career in Australia, this writer/actress/producer now focuses on feature film projects in the United States and is perhaps most known for her breakthrough roles in the films Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect. In 2019, Rebel will be seen in four feature films: Isn't It Romantic and The Hustle (both of which she also produced), Jojo Rabbit directed by Taika Waititi and Tom Hooper's Cats and ABC television series Les Norton.- Actress
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Maya Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, to Richard Rudolph, a music producer, and soul singer Minnie Riperton. Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish (from a family from Lithuania, Russia, Germany, and Hungary). In 1973, Maya, her parents, and her older brother, Marc Rudolph, moved to California to further Minnie's music career. Here Minnie recorded "Lovin' You", her most famous single, in which one can hear her sing "Maya, Maya, Maya" at the end of the song; Riperton said that the song was used as a lullaby for Maya.
During adolescence, Maya attended St. Augustine by the Sea School, where she met childhood friend, Gwyneth Paltrow. The Paltrows and the Rudolphs became family friends and, in 2000, Richard Rudolph and Maya filled the role of music supervisors on the Bruce Paltrow-directed film Duets (2000), which starred Gwyneth.
In 1990, Maya enrolled at the University of California at Santa Cruz, majoring in photography. It was here that Maya formed the band "Supersauce" with fellow students. After graduation in 1994, Maya left the band and soon joined The Rentals, fronted by Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. Maya was featured on the 1999 release "Seven More Minutes", where she sang backup vocals on "Barcelona" and "My Head is in the Sun". Maya began touring with the group, singing backup and playing Moog synthesizer. When The Rentals disbanded, Maya decided to pursue her dream of a career in comedy, joining the famed troupe "The Groundlings".
On May 6, 2000, Maya joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975), and became one of that show's most popular performers. Famous sketches include a dead-on impression of fashion diva Donatella Versace; high school flake "Megan", the host of her own morning talk show, "Wake-up WakeField"; and one of the members of the R&B parody "Gemini's Twin". In 2006, she co-starred in the film A Prairie Home Companion (2006), directed by the legendary Robert Altman and based on the NPR show by Garrison Keillor.
Maya has four children with her partner, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.- Actress
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Ellie Kemper, born Elizabeth Claire Kemper on May 2, 1980, is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best-known for her role as "Erin Hannon" in the NBC series The Office (2005), as well as her supporting roles in the films Bridesmaids (2011) and 21 Jump Street (2012)). She plays the title role in the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015), for which she has received critical acclaim. In the summer of 2015, she joined NBC News as a temporary co-host on NBC's morning news program, The Today (1952) Show.- Actress
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Vera Mindy Chokalingam is an Indian-American actress, comedienne, producer, writer and director from Cambridge, Massachusetts known for playing Kelly Kapoor in The Office, Disgust in Inside Out, and creating The Mindy Project. She also appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, Despicable Me, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Ocean's 8, and Monsters at Work. She has two children.- Actress
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Retta was born in Newark, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Parks and Recreation (2009), Fracture (2007) and The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017).- Actress
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June Diane Raphael is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs Burning Love, Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV::, and Grace and Frankie. Notable film work includes supporting roles in Year One and Unfinished Business, as well as her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner Casey Wilson. She also co-hosts the movie discussion podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Jason Mantzoukas and her husband Paul Scheer.- Actress
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Niecy Nash was born on 23 February 1970 in Palmdale, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Reno 911! (2003), Guess Who (2005) and Claws (2017). She has been married to Jessica Betts since 29 August 2020. She was previously married to Jay Tucker and Don Nash.- Actress
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Kat Dennings was born Katherine Victoria Litwack in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, to Ellen (Schatz), a speech therapist and poet, and Gerald Litwack, a molecular pharmacologist. She is the youngest of five children. Her family is of Russian Jewish descent. Kat was predominantly home-schooled, graduating at the age of fourteen. Her family subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California to support Kat acting full-time.
After work doing commercials, she began work in television, starting with a role on HBO's Sex and the City (1998), following up with roles on Raising Dad (2001), The Scream Team (2002), Everwood (2002), Without a Trace (2002) and ER (1994), among others.
Kat made the move to the big screen with supporting roles in Raise Your Voice (2004), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Big Momma's House 2 (2006). She later achieved a level of fame with roles in The House Bunny (2008) and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008).
Kat continues to act in feature films and is an avid video blogger. Since 2011, she has starred with Beth Behrs in the CBS television series 2 Broke Girls (2011).- Actress
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Named the "next big thing" and one of the "top 35 Latinos under 35," by The Hollywood Reporter, Gina Rodriguez's profile has been rising steadily since her breakout performance as the titular character in FILLY BROWN during the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
Gina Rodriguez was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents Magali and Genaro Rodriguez, a boxing referee. She started performing at age seven with the salsa dance company Fantasia Juvenil. She went on to work with other companies including Los Soneros Del Swing, performing at several Salsa Congress' in Chicago, California, New York and Puerto Rico. At sixteen, Gina was one of thirteen teens to be accepted into Columbia University NY- Theatrical Collaboration taught by Richard Niles. She wrote, directed and performed original work with twelve other kids from around the world. She fell in love with New York and NYU called her name-she was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, and the calling was clear, theatre was it. Gina had four years of intense theatre training at both the Atlantic Theatre Company and Experimental Theatre Wing, working with David Mamet and William H. Macy, the brilliant guidance of Rosemary Quinn and other wonderful professors. Directly after graduation, Gina booked her first lead role in the feature film Tiny Dancer. After, Gina originated the role of Frida Kahlo in the world premiere of "Casa Blue: The Last Moments in the Life of Frida Kahlo," at the American Stage Theatre. She continued to work in NY with multiple theatres and her work in film and TV steadily grew, including shows "Jonny Zero," "Army Wives," and "Law and Order," in addition to several short and indie films. One in particular, Osvaldos, was accepted into festivals including ABFF, NY HBO Latino Film Fest, Chicago International Film Fest, Urbanworld. They named Gina winner of the "Best Actor" award at the First Run Film Festival in NY and the film aired on HBO in 2010 and was named one of the "Five Best Shorts." After the years of success in NY, Gina booked a lead role in a feature film Go for It (Lionsgate) in which she received a 2011 Imagen Awards nomination. After this, Gina booked her first co-star TV role on CBS' "Eleventh Hour." She went on to book series regular roles on web series "Eden's Court" and "No Names;" her first studio film Our Family Wedding with America Ferrera; and a lead in film Superchicas. Since then she has also guest starred on the TV shows: "The Mentalist," "Happy Endings" and "Ten Things I Hate About You." Next up came one of Gina's most exciting roles, to date, Filly Brown. Originally, this role had been written as a spoken word artist, an area that Gina had experience, but upon meeting the directors and producers, they informed her that they were changing the part to a rapper. After an outstanding audition, in which Gina provided an impromptu rap performance, she secured the role. Gina collaborated with music producers, E Dub and Khoolaid from Silent Giant, to come up with over five original songs for the film. Filly Brown is set to hit theatres nationally in April 2013.
Up next, Gina stars as the lead in the indie dark comedy Sleeping with Fishes, written and directed by Nicole Gomez Fisher. The film focuses on Alexis Rodriguez Fish, who returns home to her family after the death of her cheating husband. Anna Ortiz will play her sister. Gina remains in the midst of an ABC studios holding deal, and will be seen in a supporting role in Snap, a reunion with her FILLY BROWN director Youssef Delara. Her indie film California Winter with Ruttina Wesley remains in the pipeline as well.
Gina is a supporter of Inspira, an organization that works to spotlight Latino leaders who shape their communities. She also works with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts and the Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative, and won an Imagen award winner for "Best Actress in a Feature Film: Filly Brown".
As of 2014, Gina stars in the CW television series Jane the Virgin (2014), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Actress in a Television Series - Comedy). She lives in Los Angeles, CA.- Actress
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus was born on January 13, 1961, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, to Judith (LeFever), a special needs tutor and author, and Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, a billionaire businessman. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she spent her childhood in Washington, D.C., and New York. She met her husband, Brad Hall, while in college, and made her feature movie debut in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). She lives in Los Angeles with Brad and their two children. Her father was born in France, and her grandfather Pierre Louis-Dreyfus was in the French Resistance against the Nazis.- Jackie Guerra was born on 25 July 1965 in the USA. She is an actress, known for Selena (1997), Picking Up the Pieces (2000) and First Time Out (1995). She is married to Bill Torres.
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Nicole Blonsky (born November 9, 1988) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and Internet personality, who is best known for her breakthrough role as Tracy Turnblad in the film Hairspray (2007), for which she won a Critics' Choice Award and received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She is also known for her starring role as Willamena Rader in the ABC Family series Huge (2010), for which she received a Teen Choice Award nomination.- Actress
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Jenny Sarah Slate is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the improvise and comedy scene. She lent voice performances to the animated films The Lorax (2012), Zootopia (2016), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), and she ventured into dramatic roles with her supporting performance as Bonnie in Gifted (2017). She also appeared in the critically acclaimed science-fiction film, Everything Everywhere All At Once.- Writer
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Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher was born on September 30, 1957 in Queens, New York City, New York to Sylvia Drescher, a bridal consultant & Mort Drescher, a naval systems analyst. Fran attended Hillcrest High School in New York with another now-famous name, Ray Romano. She was a studious girl and was quite popular. In fact, at age fifteen, she'd met the man she thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. That man was Peter Marc Jacobson. Her first break was in the unforgettable movie, Saturday Night Fever (1977) with John Travolta. She continued to play small roles in movies, until she came up with the idea for The Nanny (1993). She was visiting a friend in England and came up with the plot line. The Nanny (1993) became an instant success, and so did Fran. Since then, she has been in films such as The Beautician and the Beast (1997) (which she also produced) and Picking Up the Pieces (2000) co-starring Woody Allen. Fran has since divorced her husband Jacobson. She is a cancer survivor and an inspiration to women everywhere.- Actress
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Actor, comedian and producer Wendi McLendon-Covey has been captivating audiences throughout her career.
Wendi recently concluded her impressive 10-season run starring on ABC's "The Goldbergs," a milestone marked by two Critic's Choice nominations. Notably, at the time of its conclusion, "The Goldbergs" stood as the longest-running network comedy currently on-air. Wendi is now transitioning on to her next series endeavor. "St. Denis Medical" is a new workplace comedy for NBC, which will announce its premiere date soon for 2024. Wendi most recently hosted HGTV's TV special "Frozen in Design," now streaming on MAX.
Wendi is a veteran of over 40 movies, including studio films such as "Bridesmaids," "What Men Want, and "Blended," as well as indie/festival films like "Hello, My Name is Doris," "Blush," and "Paint."
Wendi has emerged in recent years as a rising star in the animation field. She is currently recurring as 'Chief Patsy Stamos' on "Grimsburg" on FOX, as well as "Big City Greens" on Disney Plus. The film "Big City Greens: The Movie Spacecation" premieres early June on Disney Channel and Disney+. She also voiced 'Gale' in Disney Pixar's Oscar-nominated film "Elemental." Other animation credits include "Bob's Burgers," "M.O.D.O.K.," and "Solar Opposites."
True comedy fans will recognize Wendi from her role as 'Deputy Clementine Johnson' in the cult classic "Reno 911," a mockumentary about law enforcement. Her other television work includes appearances on "Modern Family," "Rules of Engagement," "The Office," and Netflix's "Unstable."
Wendi got her start at the world-famous Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, where she excelled at both improv and sketch comedy. She currently resides in Long Beach with her husband of 27 years, and seven rescue cats.- Actress
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Christina Applegate was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, to record producer/executive Robert Applegate and singer-actress Nancy Priddy. Her parents split-up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings from her father's re-marriage - Alisa (b. October 10, 1977) and Kyle (b. July 15, 1981). Alisa and Christina are best friends and even lived together while Alisa was going to college. Christina's mother took her along on all of her auditions and acting jobs. She made her acting debut at age five months, when her mother got her in a commercial for Playtex nursers. Her mother never remarried, but kept company with Stephen Stills. Christina still cherishes a guitar Stephen gave her when she was young. She played in a number of TV series before landing her breakout role in Married... with Children (1987). Christina still studies jazz dance.- Actress
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Casey Wilson was born on 24 October 1980 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Gone Girl (2014), Ass Backwards (2013) and Bride Wars (2009). She has been married to David Caspe since 25 May 2014. They have three children.- Writer
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Mary Jo Pehl was born on 27 February 1960 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1997) and Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2017).- Actress
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Lilly Singh is a successful, famous Canadian YouTuber, known as Superwoman. She is also known for her role in the movie "Dr. Cabbie" (2014) and the YouTube series "Giving Back Glam" (2014) ; "The Tube's Hautest" (2014) and "Lana Steele : Make Up Spy" (2015). She is also known for her rapping skills and has a few songs : #LEH feat. Humble The Poet (2014); IVIVI feat. Humble The Poet (2015) and she is featured in Jassi Sidhu's song "Hipshaker" (2013).- Michelle Meredith is known for The Morning Show (2019), I'm Dying Up Here (2017) and Black-ish (2014).
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Alia Shawkat was born in Riverside, California, to Dina Burke and actor Tony Shawkat. Her maternal grandfather, Paul Burke, was also an actor. Her father is from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother has Irish, Italian, and Norwegian ancestry. Success arrived early for Alia. Her career began at the young age of 11 when she landed a role on the ABC Family series State of Grace (2001). She later starred as "Maeby Funke" on Fox's Emmy-award winning Arrested Development (2003) where she portrayed a rebellious and mischievous member of a dysfunctional Orange County family trying to adjust to their loss of wealth.
Alia was introduced to show business by appearing in a Calvin Klein catalog, which immediately attracted the attention of commercial and theatrical agents in Hollywood. She soon landed a role opposite George Clooney in Three Kings (1999). This was followed by a supporting lead in the Ron Perlman' movie The Trial of Old Drum (2000).
But it was State of Grace (2001) that catapulted her into the forefront of young actresses. She has also had guest-starring roles on JAG (1995), Without a Trace (2002), Boomtown (2002) and Presidio Med (2002) and she recently starred opposite Martin Lawrence in Rebound (2005).
At 16 years old, when she was not filming, Alia attended a private school near her home in Rancho Mirage where she was able to continue her studies in English, Physics, Math, Geography and Drama. Her ambition is eventually to attend Yale University studying International Relations.
In her free time, Alia enjoys horseback riding, ice-skating and dancing. She is an accomplished pianist and speaks several languages. She splits her time between her home and Rancho Mirage and Los Angeles where she resides with her parents and her two brothers.- Actress
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Milana Vayntrub is an Uzbekistan-born American actress, writer and stand-up comedian. She began her career making YouTube videos amounting over 11 million views, then turned her web content into an MTV pilot. In 2016 she was recognized by Adweek on the cover of their Creative 100 issue for her activism, documentary work, and her role as Lily Adams in AT&T commercials. She is most recognized as an actress for her role as Sloane on the NBC dramatic series This Is Us and as a writer for Adult Swim's Robot Chicken Robot Chicken (2001) .- Actress
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Lauren Ash is a recent alumnus of the Second City Chicago Mainstage. She is also an alumna of the Second City Toronto Mainstage and is one half of sketch comedy duo "Cory!". She is a two-time Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Female Improviser and has also won for Best Comedic Play in 2008 and Best Sketch Troupe in 2006.
She's played various roles in "Scare Tactics" as well as the Canadian TV series, "Almost Heroes." She had a recurring role in "The Ron James Show" and made guest appearances in "Lost Girl," "Cracked," "Bomb Girls" and "Call Me Fitz." Other film and television credits include "Video on Trial," "Hotbox" and the Academy Award-nominated film "Lars and the Real Girl." She is also the voice of Sam in the animated Canadian series "The Dating Guy."- Producer
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Studied at George Brown Theatre School in Toronto. She waited tables for five years, did some theatre work and the odd commercial. Even kept her comedic bent alive in the Toronto sketch comedy group, the Atomic Fireballs, she formed with three other women.- Actress
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Jillian Bell was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She began studying improv at the age of eight. She graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 2002, and then moved to Los Angeles, where she became a member of the Groundlings. She auditioned for Saturday Night Live, and though she did not join the cast, she became a writer for the show in 2009 for the 35th season. The same year Bell appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as an assistant who wears revealing clothing at work.- Pom Klementieff (born 3 May 1986) is a French actress. She was trained at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris and has appeared in such films as Loup (2009), Sleepless Night (2011) and Hacker's Game (2015). She plays the role of Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Pom Klementieff was born in Quebec City, Canada, to a Korean mother and French-Russian father, who was working there as a consul with the French government. Her grandfather was painter Eugène Klementieff. Her parents chose the name "Pom" because it is similar in pronunciation to the Korean words for both "spring" and "tiger". Klementieff lived in Canada for one year before her family traveled extensively due to her father's job. They lived in Japan and the Ivory Coast, before settling in France.
Klementieff's father died of cancer when she was 5, and her mother had schizophrenia and was unable to care for children, so Klementieff was raised by her paternal uncle and aunt. Her uncle, whom she described as "like [her] second father", died on her 18th birthday, and her older brother committed suicide just seven years later, this time on her 25th birthday. Klementieff briefly attended law school after her uncle's death to appease her aunt but did not find the career path appealing. She also worked as a waitress and saleswoman in France. She started acting at age 19 at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris. A few months into her education, she won a theater competition that awarded her free classes for two years with the school's top teachers.
Klementieff's first professional acting job was the French independent film Après lui (2007), portraying the stepdaughter of the protagonist played by Catherine Deneuve. Filming for her scenes took three days. During one scene, Klementieff was supposed to push someone down a set of stairs but accidentally fell down the stairs herself, and director Gaël Morel kept that shot in the final film. Her first leading role was in Loup (2009), a French film about a tribe of reindeer herders in the Siberian mountains. During filming, Klementieff stayed in a camp, hours from the nearest village, where temperatures dropped well below zero. During filming she befriended nomads who lived there, worked with real wolves, rode reindeer, and swam with a horse in a lake.
Klementieff made her Hollywood debut in Spike Lee's Oldboy (2013), a remake of the South Korean film of the same name. She portrayed Haeng-Bok, the bodyguard of the antagonist played by Sharlto Copley. A fan of the original film, Klementieff heard about the part through Roy Lee, a producer with the remake, and took boxing lessons after learning the role involved martial arts. After showcasing her boxing skills during her audition, Lee asked her to go home and come back wearing a more feminine outfit and make-up, like her character in the film. She contributed some of her own clothes to the character's wardrobe, and trained three hours a day for two months for an on-screen fight with star Josh Brolin. Klementieff came up with the name Haeng-Bok, Korean for "happiness", herself after Lee asked her to research possible names for the character.
Klementieff moved to Los Angeles after Oldboy was filmed and began pursuing more Hollywood auditions. She continued taekwondo after the film, and has a purple belt as of the summer of 2014. Her next acting role was the film Hacker's Game (2015), in which she plays a hacker she compared to Lisbeth Salander from the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Klementieff used her boxing skills again in the film, and due to the movie's low budget, she had to do her own make-up and choose her own wardrobe. It was her idea to dye her hair purple for the role, to which the directors first objected but later acquiesced. She joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and appeared in the same role in the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). - Naomi Watanabe is known for The Promised Neverland (2020), Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai (2018) and Spotlight (2012).
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Siobhan Thompson moved from England to New York City to seek her fortune, but found comedy instead. She started taking classes at UCB in 2010. She is an actor/writer on the Maude team Alamo and was previously an actor on The Prom, and can be seen doing very stupid characters in many ridiculous comedy shows around town. She is a proud member of indie sketch group The Charlies, with whom she has performed at various festivals throughout the country. You may have seen her on your televisions saying words. Or maybe not. Maybe you don't even own a television.- Writer
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Amber Ruffin is a writer, executive producer, and host of the Emmy and WGA Award-nominated series The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock. She is also an Emmy and WGA Award-nominated writer and performer for NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Ruffin was the first African American female to write for a late-night network talk show in the U.S. She wrote and performed on Comedy Central's "Detroiters" and was a regular narrator on the cabler's "Drunk History." Ruffin was previously a performer at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, the iO Theater, and the Second City in Chicago. In addition, she was a writer/performer for the 2018 and 2019 Golden Globe Awards and has written for the series "A Black Lady Sketch Show." Ruffin is a New York Times bestselling author, along with her sister Lacey Lamar, of "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories of Racism," published by Grand Central Publishing. She is also co-writing the Broadway musical "Some Like it Hot," which will begin performances in 2022. In 2021, Ruffin was named to the 2021 TIME100 Next List, TIME's list of the next 100 most influential people in the world.- Actress
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Kelly Marie Tran is a American actress from San Diego who is known for voicing Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon and playing Rose Tico from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She also voiced Dawn Betterman from The Croods: A New Age. She reprised her role of Rose in Lego Star Wars specials and Forces of Destiny.- Actress
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Delta Burke is best known for her portrayal as Suzanne Sugarbaker in CBS's Designing Women (1986), which ran for seven seasons and for which she received two Emmy nominations for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. When a teenager she represented Florida in the Miss America Pageant, and won a talent scholarship, which she used to attend a two-year study program at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
She got her first television role within a month of her arrival in Los Angeles. She starred in the TV movie The Seekers (1979) and the series The Chisholms (1979). She had the leading role in Filthy Rich (1982) and a starring role in HBO's first weekly series 1st & Ten (1984).
Through her own production company, Perseverance, Inc., Delta produced and starred in the ABC television series Delta (1992). She actually sang in the series and dyed her dark hair blonde for the role. She was reunited with Designing Women (1986) creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason when she starred in and produced Women of the House (1995), in which she reprised her role as Suzanne Sugarbaker.
Much of Delta's time now is spent designing clothing and managing her New York company, Delta Burke Design, which is becoming very successful. She is married to actor Gerald McRaney. They live in New Orleans when not working or traveling.- Actress
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Heidi Gardner is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2017, beginning in season 43. Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up with an older brother, Justin. Growing up, Gardner worked part-time at the Tivoli Theater, where she did everything "from selling tickets to making popcorn." She later credited the theater as "setting the tone in her life." Gardner was not interested in acting as a child, only performing on stage as a flutist for the school band and doing comedy sketches in school talent shows. Gardner graduated from the all-girls Catholic high school Notre Dame DE Sion in 2001.- Actress
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Melissa Villaseñor was born on 9 October 1987 in Whittier, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Hubie Halloween (2020), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).- Producer
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Cherry Chevapravatdumrong was born on 1 December 1977 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Resident Alien (2021), Family Guy (1999) and Joy Ride (2023).- Writer
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Ashley Nicole Black was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Ted Lasso (2020), A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019) and The Simpsons Movie (2007).- Writer
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Kristen Bartlett is known for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016) and Saturday Night Live (1975).- Actress
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Maggie Mae Fish is known for Crashing (2022), Matty Paz Is a Noob (2018) and Bryers Cucumber Tostinos (2020).- Writer
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Jenny Zigrino was born on 8 January 1987. She is a writer and actress, known for Bad Santa 2 (2016), FabUless (2019) and Fifty Shades of Black (2016).- Writer
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Nikki Glaser was born on 1 June 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Trainwreck (2015), I Feel Pretty (2018) and Punching the Clown (2009).- Actress
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Dana DeLorenzo was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio and showed an innate love of comedy and performance at an early age. At age 3 she made up knock-knock jokes and recorded them on her Fischer-Price tape recorder solely to listen back and make herself laugh. At some point she started doing impressions. She landed her first paying gig at 11 yrs old performing Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First" with her younger brother in a weekly variety show.
DeLorenzo graduated from DePaul University in Chicago and soon after became an on-air personality and producer on The Mancow Show. She continued to perform in various theater productions around Chicago, and in 2008 formed an Amy Winehouse tribute band called House of Winehouse. The band performed at various festivals and venues including Pridefest Milwaukee and House of Blues Chicago. DeLorenzo garnered international acclaim for her uncanny portrayal of the singer, including a feature in The Chicago Tribune and was voted Best Tribute Band by The Chicago Reader in 2010.
Later that year DeLorenzo moved to Los Angeles, and soon after appeared in various TV shows (Californication, Workaholics, 2 Broke Girls) and films (A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, The Mad Ones). She gained attention with her first recurring role on television playing Beth the CBS Executive on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. DeLorenzo returned to the stage to perform in the original LA production of The Best of Craigslist Live! and in sold-out tours in Chicago at The Royal George Theatre as well as the prestigious Joe's Pub in New York City. DeLorenzo continued down the comedy road and returned to doing impressions on PopTV's Impress Me opposite Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead).
DeLorenzo's breakout role came when she was cast alongside Bruce Campbell in the horror-comedy series Ash Vs. Evil Dead, a continuation of the cult-classic movie trilogy The Evil Dead written and directed by Sam Raimi. DeLorenzo won the approval of fans and critics alike originating the role of Kelly Maxwell, the foul-mouthed demon-slaying sidekick to the show's titular anti-hero. Her performance in the series nabbed her back-to-back nominations for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award and an iHorror Award nomination for Best Actress in a Horror Series. In 2018 DeLorenzo was the recipient of the Artemis Women in Action Next Wave award.
Since wrapping the final season of Ash Vs. Evil Dead, DeLorenzo had another dream come true when she landed a guest-starring role on the reboot of Will & Grace. She later recurred in the critically-acclaimed series Perpetual Grace, LTD., and won over audiences playing Kat Dennings' Jersey-Italian sister Barbra in the female-driven comedy Friendsgiving. DeLorenzo also was an associate producer and played a the role of Mandy in the dark comedy indie, The Disappearance of Toby Blackwood, and had a guest starring role on Tacoma FD.
DeLorenzo crossed more off her bucket list when she lent her vocal talents to various animated projects, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, King Tweety, and the Netflix animated children's series, Ask The StoryBots. DeLorenzo was thrilled to have the opportunity to vocally reprise her role of Kelly Maxwell along with star Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead: The Game.- Actress
Lauren Holt was born on 12 March 1991 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. She is an actress, known for Barbie (2023), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000).- Actress
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Chloe Fineman returns to "Saturday Night Live," for her fifth season as a cast member.
Fineman has been entertaining viewers with her standout impressions of Drew Barrymore, Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman, Timothée Chalamet and more. Glamour raved "Chloe Fineman Can Impersonate Anyone" and the Washington Post called Fineman "The Comedian We Need Right Now". She was also honored in Hollywood Reporter's Next Gen List and Variety's New York Impact Report. Her Instagram @Chloeiscrazy has been a fan favorite for many years.
Chloe made her film debut in the "Father of the Bride" remake for HBO, followed by Paramount's "Babylon" and Netflix's "White Noise" from Noah Baumbach. She will co-star Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming drama, "Megalopolis" as well as Sony's "Ex Friends Wedding".
Her TV credits include "Big Mouth," (Netflix) "Search Party," (HBOMax) "Dickinson," (Apple TV) "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens," (Comedy Central) "High Fidelity" (Hulu) and the new "Twisted Metal" (Peacock).
Fineman graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with Honors and is from Berkeley, Calif.- Actress
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Noël Wells was born on 23 December 1986 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She is an actress and editor, known for Mr. Roosevelt (2017), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020).- Actress
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Tawny Newsome is know for playing Angela Ali in Netflix's Space Force, Ensign Beckett Mariner in Star Trek: Lower Decks, Gabby in IFC's Brockmire, and Chelsea Leight-Leigh in Pluto's Bajillion Dollar Properties. You may have also caught her in fun comedies like NBC's Superstore, IFC's Sherman's Showcase, and NBC's Perfect Harmony. She also hosts the Official Star Trek Podcast, Star Trek: The Pod Directive along with Paul F. Tompkins.
Before LA, she had mainly been writing and performing her work on the Second City Mainstage in Chicago, or touring around with her bands (Four Lost Souls, Jon Langford). As a longtime collaborator of Langford's, for years they've made quirky, outsider country music with a shifting lineup of performers. Recently they had the pleasure of recording an album in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with some of the original Muscle Shoals Sound session players.
Her most recent project is a completely DIY rock record, made with fellow singer and longtime friend, Chicago indie darling Bethany Thomas. 'Material Flats' is a debut-for-the-two-of-them, 8 track, garage, punk, pop (with some alt-country splashes) fully independent album. She and Bethany co-wrote all of the tracks in June of 2020, whilst sheltering in place together in Tawny's home and studio in the Mojave desert. Tawny even engineered the record herself. It's a windy, weird, desert-punk album with a sweet side and an undercurrent of anxiety. Out everywhere October 9th 2020.- Actress
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Desi Lydic was born on 30 June 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Daily Show (1996), Awkward. (2011) and We Bought a Zoo (2011). She has been married to Gannon Brousseau since 13 September 2014. They have one child.- Actress
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Tony® Award-winner and five-time Tony® Award nominee Laura Benanti is a celebrated stage and screen actress. Benanti currently can be seen as Jane in Amy Schumer's Life & Beth.
Recently, Laura starred in HBO Max's Gossip Girl (2021) reboot and in Netflix's Worth (2020) starring opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Amy Ryan, for which Deadline hailing her performance as "awards-worthy."
Additionally, Benanti reprised her role in the final season of the hit TV series Younger (2015) and starred opposite Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish in the comedy film Here Today (2021). She appeared in Lin-Manuel Miranda's awards-favorite, tick, tick... BOOM! (2021), the adaptation of the autobiographical Off-Broadway show written by Jonathan Larson (Rent).
Benanti's other credits include appearing as a guest star on the Showtime series Cinema Toast (2021) created by Jeff Baena and produced by the Duplass Brothers as well as the hit variety show ZIWE (2021) featuring comedian Ziwe Fumudoh. Additionally, Benanti created and executive produced the HBO Max special, Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020 (2020), co-authored a children's board book M is for MAMA (and also Merlot): A Modern Mom's ABC's, co-written with Metropolitan Opera Star Kate Mangiameli and released a self-titled studio album for Sony Music Masterworks. The album is comprised of contemporary covers, jazz influenced torch songs and comedic takes on beloved favorites.- Grace Kuhlenschmidt was born on 30 June 1995. She is an actress, known for Search Party (2016), ZIWE (2021) and Hot White Heist (2021).
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Ego Nwodim was born on 10 March 1988 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is an actress, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), It's A Party (2018) and Law & Order True Crime (2017).