Jenny Slate

Early life and education

Slate was born on March 25, 1982, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Nancy () and Ronald "Ron" Slate, and has two sisters. She and her family are Jewish. After graduating from Milton Academy as valedictorian, Slate attended Columbia University as a literature major, and met Gabe Liedman, who later was her comedy partner. Slate graduated from Columbia University in 2004.

Career

She and Liedman formed the comedy duo Gabe & Jenny. Their stand-up shows with Max Silvestri, "Big Terrific", were named best new variety show of 2008 by Time Out New York. In 2015, Slate, Liedman, and Silvestri ended the show, citing their busy schedules, although they have since occasionally performed together. Slate first met Liedman in 2000 while attending Columbia University. They describe their relationship as a "nonsexual romance"; Slate says, "I like to think of us as kind of like (Seinfeld characters) Elaine Benes and George Costanza, but we like each other." Throughout 2008 and 2009, Slate regularly performed her one-woman show Jenny Slate: Dead Millionaire at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCBT) in New York City.

Slate was a regular commentator on many VH1 "talking head" programs with commentary. and guest appearances on several television programs.

Slate joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for the 2009–10 season. In her first episode, she accidentally said "fucking" during her debut sketch, which was heard on the live broadcast, but removed from reruns. 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 short film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. 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 live film role was as Zoe in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked; 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. Then, Slate released her own 12-episode mini-series on YouTube called Catherine, celebrating late 1980s and early 1990s soap-opera aesthetics.

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 won 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 International Film Festival, and Best Comedic Actress at the Women Film Critics Circle Awards for her performance in the film. She co-starred with Judy Greer and Nat Faxon in the first season of the FX series Married. Slate still appeared in a few episodes after season one. 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 film Zootopia and Gidget in The Secret Life of Pets. She 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.

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." In 2017, Slate starred in the film Gifted as Bonnie Stevenson, the teacher of a 7-year-old mathematical genius. In October 2019, she released a stand-up comedy special on Netflix, titled Stage Fright.

Slate published her book titled Little Weirds, about her struggles with and thoughts about life and relationships, in 2019. In 2022, she appeared in the critically acclaimed science fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once as Big Nose. Her character's original name was changed to Debbie the Dog Mom for the film's digital release due to its association with Jewish stereotypes. For their performance the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

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. They collaborated on the Marcel the Shell with Shoes On franchise, including the books, the short films, and later, the 2021 feature film. The pair announced their separation in May 2016. Slate started dating actor Chris Evans a couple of months later.

In September 2019, Slate announced she and art curator and author Ben Shattuck, owner of the Davolls General Store in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, were engaged. On February 3, 2021, Slate announced that she had given birth to a daughter in late 2020. After three attempts at a wedding were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, she and Shattuck married in their living room on New Year's Eve 2021. They plan to move back to Brooklyn in the fall of 2025. They had been living in Shattuck's childhood home in Dartmouth, and his parents lived down the street from them.

Slate is an agnostic.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Podcasts

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Notes

References

References

1. (January 18, 2022). "Enter the Weird, Wonderful World of Jenny Slate". Marie Claire.
2. (March 25, 2023). "Famous birthdays for March 25: Jenny Slate, Sarah Jessica Parker".
3. "Paul Benjamin Slate (2012)".
4. (October 23, 2024). "Jenny Slate's Dad Used to Run a Trick-or-Treating Candy Scheme During Halloween".
5. "Jenny Slate".
6. "Constance Cohen "Connie" Gilson (2024)".
7. Kurtz Ferrari, Kathy. (September 24, 2009). "Jenny Slate Joins the Cast of 'Saturday Night Live'". Milton Times.
8. (March 21, 2017). "The Year of Living Publicly". Vulture.com.
9. (June 30, 2014). "Comedian Jenny Slate in Obvious Child". Jewish Journal.
10. Molyneaux, Libby. (December 6, 2012). "Jenny Slate". [[LA Weekly]].
11. Cooper, Miranda. (March 13, 2017). "Jewish Comedian Jenny Slate on Learning to Love Her Curly Hair". [[Tablet (magazine).
12. (February 27, 2009). "Questions For: Jenny Slate". Boston Daily.
13. Fitzner, Ana. (May 3, 2002). "Varsity Show Reach Exceeds Its Grasp". Columbia Spectator.
14. (June 2014). "Jenny Slate". Into the Gloss.
15. Agresta, Mike. (Fall 2011). "Behind the Shell".
16. Parker, Billy. (June 10, 2009). "Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate, Comedians". Gothamist.
17. Borden, Jane. (December 2008). "Comedy: The best (and worst) of 2008". Time Out New York.
18. (April 22, 2015). "Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri on the End of Their Weekly Comedy Show, Big Terrific". vulture.com.
19. Karakh, Ben. (May 4, 2007). "Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate, A Night with Gabe and Jenny". Gothamist.
20. "Jenny Slate". Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
21. (September 11, 2009). "Vulture Interviews New ''Saturday Night Live'' Cast Member Jenny Slate". New York Magazine.
22. Barrett, Annie. (November 9, 2009). "'Bored to Death:' Jenny Slate, please come back".
23. "Jenny Slate".
24. Bryant, Adam. (September 9, 2009). "Saturday Night Live Adds Two New Cast Members". TV Guide.
25. Itzkoff, Dave. (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More". [[The New York Times]].
26. Schwindt, Oriana (September 15, 2014). "What's Worth Watching". ''[[TV Guide]]''. p. 79
27. (September 28, 2009). "'Saturday Night Live' starts season with F-bomb".
28. Hollowell, Jenny. (December 13, 2009). "TV Moment of 2009: Jenny Slate Drops the F-Bomb on 'SNL'". TV Squad.
29. Anne, Sarah. (September 8, 2010). "Celebritology 2.0 – Jenny Slate leaves 'Saturday Night Live', and we ask, what went wrong?". [[The Washington Post]].
30. "The Radical Vulnerability of Jenny Slate".
31. Lyons, Margaret. (August 17, 2010). "Jenny Slates's 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' is fantastic".
32. Matheson, Whitney. (August 29, 2010). "Exclusive: 'SNL' star Jenny Slate chats about 'Marcel the Shell'". USA Today.
33. Swerdloff, Alexis. (November 3, 2010). "Jenny Slate Emerges From Her Shell ... As A Shell". Papermag.com.
34. (May 19, 2013). "Catherine".
35. (December 15, 2014). "Performance of the Year: Jenny Slate".
36. (January 16, 2015). "Jenny Slate Wins Big at the Critics' Choice Awards".
37. (January 24, 2014). "FX Orders Series Starring Nat Faxon, Judy Greer, Brett Gelman, and Jenny Slate; Coming in July". Splitsider.
38. Madeline Bilis. (November 3, 2016). "Jenny Slate and Her Father Wrote a Book About Their House in Milton".
39. (June 24, 2020). "Jenny Slate Exits 'Big Mouth': 'Black Characters Should Be Played by Black People'".
40. Lussier, Germain. (May 4, 2022). "Everything Everywhere All at Once Will Change a Problematic Credit for Its Digital Release".
41. Battan, Carrie. (June 2, 2014). "How Jenny Slate Went from an 'SNL' Blunder to 'Obvious ChildSuccess".
42. Killoran, Ellen. (May 25, 2011). "The Rise and Fall and Rise of Jenny Slate". [[L Magazine]].
43. (March 21, 2017). "Jenny Slate Talks About Her Breakup with Chris Evans".
44. Garvey, Marianne. (September 10, 2019). "Jenny Slate is engaged to art curator boyfriend Ben Shattuck".
45. Shea, Christopher. (3 May 2022). "In debut book, Ben Shattuck retraces Thoreau while finding himself".
46. VanHoose, Benjamin. (February 3, 2021). "'Our Sweet Gal!' Jenny Slate Welcomes Daughter Ida Lupine: 'Being a Mother Is Such a Joy'".
47. Schwartz, Dave. (January 18, 2022). "Enter the Weird, Wonderful World of Jenny Slate".
48. (June 10, 2025). "Episode Guide". Live with Kelly & Mark.
49. (28 February 2022). "The Endearing Jewish World of Jenny Slate". Hey Alma.
50. "Jenny Slate (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
51. Pedersen, Erik. (2015-10-27). "Disney's ''Zootopia'' Cages Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer & Others".
52. Barker, Andrew. (2016-03-15). "Film Review: ''My Blind Brother''".
53. Fleming, Mike. (2015-05-26). "Thomas Mann, Jenny Slate Join ''Brain On Fire''; Dakota Fanning Stars In Woman's Descent Into Madness".
54. Siegel, Tatiana. (2016-05-15). "Cannes: Jenny Slate to Reunite With ''Obvious Child'' Team for Comedy ''Landline'' (Exclusive)".
55. Kroll, Justin. (2016-07-19). "Jenny Slate to Co-Star With Jack Black in ''Polka King'' (EXCLUSIVE)".
56. Kaufman, Amy. (2016-07-08). "Q&A: Animation's secret weapon: The ''Secret Life of Pets'' voice all-star Jenny Slate".
57. Kroll, Justin. (2015-09-15). "Jenny Slate Joins Chris Evans in Marc Webb's ''Gifted'' (EXCLUSIVE)".
58. Kroll, Justin. (2015-10-23). "Jenny Slate Joins Zachary Quinto in Indie Drama ''Aardvark'' (EXCLUSIVE)".
59. Perez, Lexy. (2017-06-14). "''Despicable 3'': Meet the Voices Behind the Animated Characters".
60. Kroll, Justin. (2017-05-12). "Sterling K. Brown, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate Join Jodie Foster's ''Hotel Artemis'' (EXCLUSIVE)".
61. Schwartz, Terri. (2018-04-25). "''Venom'' Trailer Has Everyone Debating the Pronunciation of "Symbiote"".
62. McNary, Dave. (2018-05-03). "Jenny Slate, Alex Sharp, Zach Galifianakis, Gillian Anderson to Star in Drama ''The Sunlit Night''".
63. Fleming, Mike. (April 25, 2018). "Harrison Ford Takes First Animated Role, In Illumination's ''The Secret Life Of Pets 2''".
64. Grobar, Matt. (2021-11-18). "''Marcel The Shell With Shoes On'': A24 Acquires North American Rights To Stop-Motion Pic From Dean Fleischer Camp & Jenny Slate".
65. N'Duka, Amanda. (2021-02-22). "Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Gina Rodriguez, Scott Eastwood & More Star In Amazon Rom-Com ''I Want You Back''".
66. Lussier, Germain. (May 4, 2022). "Everything Everywhere All at Once Will Change a Problematic Credit for Its Digital Release".
67. Kroll, Justin. (2023-05-24). "''It Ends With Us'' Adaptation At Sony And Wayfarer Studios Adds Hasan Minhaj To Cast".
68. Kroll, Justin. (2022-08-11). "Michelle Yeoh, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Brian Cox And Jenny Slate Round Out Cast Of The Russo Brothers Next Film At Netflix".
69. Grobar, Matt. (2024-07-02). "Kornel Mundrucźo's ''At The Sea'' Adds Brett Goldstein, Chloe East, Daniel Levy, Jenny Slate & Rainn Wilson".
70. Gajewski, Ryan. (2025-10-29). "H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Lea Salonga to Lead Voice Cast for DreamWorks Animation's 'Forgotten Island'".
71. Busch, Anita. (2017-09-14). "''The Ark And The Aardvark'' Animated Feature's Voice Cast Comes Together".
72. Snierson, Dan. (April 24, 2019). "First-look photos of ''Simpsons'' season 30 finale: 'Gwyneth Paltrow will not like this episode'".
73. Andreeva, Nellie. (2018-09-29). "Animated Alaska Comedy From ''Bob's Burgers'' Trio Gets Fox Presentation Order; Nick Offerman & Jenny Slate Lead Cast".
74. Andreeva, Nellie. (2024-01-17). "Jenny Slate Joins Michelle Williams In FX Series ''Dying For Sex''".
75. (May 15, 2025). "A Complete List of the 2025 Astra TV Awards Nominations". [[Hollywood Creative Alliance]].
76. Lewis, Hilary. (2025-04-29). "Gotham TV Awards Nominations: 'Adolescence' Leads With Four Nods".
77. Goldsmith, Jill. (2025-04-29). "'Adolescence', 'The Pitt', 'Dying For Sex', 'Matlock' Top Nominees For Gotham TV Awards".
78. Lattanzio, Ryan. (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Award Nominees include 'Sorry, Baby', 'Peter Hujar's Day', 'Train Dreams', 'Twinless', and 'The Plague'". [[IndieWire]].
79. "Jenny Slate » AWARD WINS/NOMINATIONS".
80. "77th Primetime Emmy Awards".
81. (March 5, 2019). "Little Weirds by Jenny Slate". Little, Brown.