Jenny Slate


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 improv and comedy scene. Following early acting and stand-up roles on television, Slate gained recognition for her live variety shows in New York City and for co-creating, writing, and producing the children's short film and book series Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and became known to a mainstream audience after featuring as a cast member on the 35th season of Saturday Night Live. Her distinctive voice landed her the role of Tammy Larsen on the critically acclaimed animated sitcom Bob's Burgers and she gained further recognition for her recurring roles as Mona-Lisa Saperstein on the NBC comedy televisions series Parks and Recreation, Sarah Guggenheim on the Showtime comedy series House of Lies, and the sketch comedy series Kroll Show.
Slate's breakout role came with her leading performance in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film Obvious Child, for which she won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in a Comedy and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Independent Film Award. She lent voice performances to the animated films Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets, and The Lego Batman Movie, and ventured into dramatic roles with her supporting performance as Bonnie in Gifted.

Early life

Slate was born on March 25, 1982, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Ron Slate, a businessman and poet who worked as vice president of global communications for the EMC Corporation and later as CEO of a biotech startup, and Nancy, a ceramicist. She is the middle child of three, with an older sister named Abigail and younger sister named Stacey. She and her family are Jewish. One of her grandmothers was born in Cuba, to a family from Russia and Turkey, and was raised in France. After graduating from Milton Academy as the valedictorian, Slate attended Columbia University as a literature major, where she helped form the improv group Fruit Paunch, starred in the Varsity Show and met Gabe Liedman, who would become her comedy partner. Slate graduated from Columbia in 2004.

Career

Alongside Gabe Liedman, Slate was half of the comedy duo Gabe & Jenny. Their live stand-up shows with Max Silvestri titled Big Terrific were named best new variety show of 2008 by Time Out New York. In 2015, Slate, Liedman, and Silvestri announced that the show would be ending due to their busy schedules, though they continue to perform together when possible.
Slate first met Liedman in 2000 while attending Columbia University. They describe their relationship as a "nonsexual romance" and Slate says, "I like to think of us as kind of like Elaine Benes and George Costanza, but we like each other." Throughout 2008 and 2009, Slate regularly performed her one-woman show titled Jenny Slate: Dead Millionaire at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.
Slate was a regular commentator on many VH1 "talking head" commentary programs. In early 2009, she had made several appearances on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon recurring sketch "7th Floor West", where she played an NBC page also named Jenny, who was later promoted to Fallon's assistant. She also had a recurring role in Bored to Death. Slate has made guest appearances on television programs, such as Bob's Burgers, Girls, The Whitest Kids U' Know, Important Things with Demetri Martin and Raising Hope.
Slate joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for one season from 2009 to 2010. In her first episode, she accidentally said "fucking" during her debut sketch "Biker Chick Chat", which was heard on the live broadcast, but removed from reruns. During her brief time on the series, she impersonated celebrities such as Hoda Kotb, Lady Gaga, Kristen Stewart, Ashley Olsen, and Olympia Snowe and became known for Tina-Tina Cheneuse, an infomercial pitchwoman who advertises personalized doorbells, car horns, and alarm clocks. Slate's contract was not renewed for another season. Despite rumors to the contrary, Slate has insisted that her SNL termination was not due to cursing but rather simply because "I didn't click."
In August 2010, she co-wrote and voiced the animated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which garnered viral success. This led to Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, Two. Slate also wrote a "Marcel"-themed children's book that was released on November 1, 2011. Her first major film role was as Zoe in ; more films followed in 2012, including the voice of Ted's mother in The Lorax.
Her first appearance in Parks and Recreation was in the 2013 episode "Bailout", in which she portrayed Mona-Lisa Saperstein. Following her success on the NBC show, Slate released and starred in a 12 episode mini-series on YouTube called Catherine, celebrating late 1980s and early 1990s soap opera aesthetics. On July 23, 2013, she appeared in Drunk History retelling the history of how Coca-Cola was made.
In 2014, Slate starred in the comedy-drama film Obvious Child, which follows the life of a young stand up comic as she grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and eventual abortion. Slate went on to win the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy, Best Breakout Performance at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Virtuosos Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and Best Comedic Actress at the Women Film Circle Awards for her performance in the film.
Slate co-starred with Judy Greer and Nat Faxon in the first season of the FX series Married. She left the series as a series regular in season two, but still appeared in a few episodes. Sarah Burns took her place in the series.
Slate appeared as Liz B. in the recurring "PubLIZity" sketches in Kroll Show, as well as many other recurring and one-off characters, performing in some capacity in almost every episode until the series ended in 2015. In 2016, Slate voiced Dawn Bellwether in the Disney animated comedy-adventure film Zootopia and Gidget in the animated feature The Secret Life of Pets.
Slate and her father co-wrote a book titled About the House about their time living in Slate's childhood home in Milton, Massachusetts, which was published in December 2016.
In 2017, Slate starred in the film Gifted as Bonnie Stevenson, the teacher of a 7-year-old mathematical genius.
In October 2019, Slate released a stand-up comedy special on Netflix, titled Stage Fright.
From 2017 until 2019, Slate voiced the biracial character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on the animated Netflix series Big Mouth. Slate exited the role on June 24, 2020, writing on Instagram that "At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and white — as am I. But Missy is also Black and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people."

Personal life

Slate lived in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, before moving with filmmaker Dean Fleischer-Camp to Los Angeles in the early 2010s.
In September 2012, Slate married Fleischer-Camp, with whom she collaborated on the Marcel the Shell with Shoes On books and short films. The pair announced their separation in May 2016.
She was in an on-and-off relationship with fellow actor Chris Evans from May 2016 to March 2018.
In September 2019, Slate announced her engagement to art curator Ben Shattuck.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010Marcel the Shell with Shoes OnMarcel Short film; also writer
2011Zoe
2012This Means WarEmily
2012The LoraxMrs. Wiggins
2013BitchMolly HornerShort film
2014Obvious ChildDonna Stern
2014The Longest WeekJocelyn
2015Digging for FireYoga Couple
2016JoshyJodi
2016ZootopiaDawn Bellwether
2016My Blind BrotherRose
2016The Secret Life of PetsGidget
2016Brain on FireMargo
2017LandlineDana Jacobs
2017The Polka KingMarla Lewan
2017The Lego Batman MovieHarley Quinn
2017GiftedBonnie
2017AardvarkEmily Milburton
2017Batman is Just Not That Into YouHarley Quinn Short film
2017Despicable Me 3Valerie Da Vinci
2018Hotel ArtemisMorgan
2018VenomDr. Dora Skirth
2019The Sunlit NightFrancesAlso producer
2019The Secret Life of Pets 2Gidget
2019Super GidgetGidget Short film
2020The Ark and the AardvarkMitzi In production
2020On the RocksVanessaPost-production

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations