Rachel Leah Bloom is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, songwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, for which she received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a TCA Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Bloom first became known for her YouTube comedic shorts, including the Hugo Award-nominated music video "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury". She has also appeared in films, including Most Likely to Murder, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and Trolls World Tour.
Early life
Bloom was born on April 3, 1987, in Los Angeles County, California, and grew up in Manhattan Beach. She is the only child of Shelli, a musician, and Alan Bloom, a healthcare lawyer. She is Jewish. Bloom attended Manhattan Beach public schools including Mira Costa High School, where she was involved in the school's drama program. In 2009, Bloom graduated from the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama. While at NYU, Bloom was the head writer and director of the school's premier sketch comedy group, Hammerkatz. Post-college, Bloom performed at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles. She was once roommates with comedian Ilana Glazer after college in Brooklyn.
Career
In April 2010, Bloom wrote and sang the song "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury", which gained a cult following when it was released on Ray Bradbury's 90th birthday in 2010. The song was inspired by her favorite Ray Bradbury book, The Martian Chronicles. There was a photo of Bradbury posted online that purported to show him watching the video. She worked as an intern for head writer Seth Meyers at Saturday Night Live. In 2012, she unsuccessfully auditioned for the show, submitting an audition video that included a bit as Katharine Hepburn doing the voice for Bugs Bunny in Space Jam. On May 13, 2013, Bloom released her first album of musical comedy, Please Love Me, which included the songs "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" and "You Can Touch My Boobies". On November 19, 2013, she released her second albumSuck 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 in the United States. The award seeks to honor "individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through their craft," which 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. In April 2017, Bloom appeared on "The Sexual Spectrum" episode of Bill Nye Saves the World, performing the song "My Sex Junk" concerning the gender and sexual spectra. The performance and episode were controversial, garnering a mixed response with backlash from conservative groups and on social media, where Bloom was threatened. The episode received an Emmy nomination. 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 October 10, 2019 she was featured in a 30-minute YouTube documentary called Laughing Matters, created by SoulPancake in collaboration with Funny or Die, wherein a variety of comedians discuss mental health. She also appeared in the show My Little Pony, on the episode "Sounds of Silence", playing a kirin named Autumn Blaze.
In 2015, Bloom married her boyfriend of six years, writer, actor, producer and director Dan Gregor. Her cousin, a rabbi, performed the ceremony. Bloom has a history of mental illness, having been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and OCD, about which she has candidly spoken. Bloom's character in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has borderline personality disorder, and the show addresses these issues. On September 14, 2019, Bloom announced she was pregnant with her first child. On April 1, 2020, she revealed that she had given birth to a baby girl.
