Colin Kelly Jost (; born June 29, 1982)
is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He has been a writer for ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' (SNL) since 2005 and ''
Weekend Update
''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
'' co-anchor since 2014. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers from 2012 to 2015 and later came back as one of the show's head writers in 2017 until 2022 alongside
Michael Che.
Early life
Colin Jost was born and raised in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in the
Grymes Hill neighborhood of
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, the elder of two sons.
[Fretts, Bruce (April 7, 2014). "Surely You Jost!". '']TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corporate ...
''. p. 9.[Zaino, Nick A. III (July 25, 2013)]
"Colin Jost, from Harvard Lampoon to 'SNL'"
''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. His mother, Kerry J. Kelly, was the chief medical officer for the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
, and his father, Daniel A. Jost, is a former teacher at
Staten Island Technical High School. He has one younger brother, Casey Jost, a writer and a producer of ''
Impractical Jokers
''Impractical Jokers'' is an American hidden camera reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, ''Impractical Jokers'' premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011 starring the members of The Tenderloins: James ...
''; he also had a role in ''Staten Island Summer''.
Raised
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, he attended
Regis High School in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, where he was the editor of the
school newspaper
A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...
''The Owl''.
He attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
,
[ majoring in history and literature, with a focus on ]Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the ...
and British literature
British literature is literature from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This article covers British literature in the English language. Anglo-Saxon (Old English) literature is ...
, and wrote his senior thesis on Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. B ...
. Jost graduated ''cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some ...
'' from Harvard in 2004.
While at Harvard, he was president of the ''Harvard Lampoon
''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Overview
The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...
''.[Ramisetti, Kirthana (January 23, 2014)]
"Colin Jost to replace Seth Meyers as 'Weekend Update' cohost on 'Saturday Night Live'"
/ref> He also won $5,250 on a college edition of '' Weakest Link'', but said he did not think he deserved to win.
Career
After graduation, Jost worked as a reporter and copy editor for the ''Staten Island Advance
The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...
''. He was then hired as a writer for a short-lived Nickelodeon animated show, ''Kappa Mikey
''Kappa Mikey'' is an American animated television series created by Larry Schwarz. The show was created by Schwarz's studio Animation Collective. The series premiered on February 25, 2006 and ended on September 20, 2008. 52 episodes were produc ...
''. After he left that job, he sent in a writing packet to NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters a ...
's ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', which gave him a writing position in 2005.[
From 2009 to 2012, Jost was ''SNL''s writing supervisor. He was co-head writer from 2012 to 2015, and regained that status from 2017 to 2022.] He often collaborated with fellow ''SNL'' co-head writer Rob Klein. During the summer hiatus following the 2012–2013 season, executive producer Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
asked Jost if he could do the ''Weekend Update
''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
'' feature[ because co-anchor ]Seth Meyers
Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NBC ...
would soon be leaving to host ''Late Night with Seth Meyers
''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights ...
''. Jost accepted and replaced Meyers on the March 1, 2014, episode. Jost later broke Meyers' record for being the longest anchor in the history of the segment on the October 23, 2021, episode hosted by Jason Sudeikis
Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 2 ...
.
Jost names Norm Macdonald
Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...
as a primary influence for his ''Update'' anchor work, as Macdonald's tone was the one Jost grew up with in high school. He also names Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
as an influence.[ In addition to ''Weekend Update'', Jost made a brief cameo appearance as Ohio Governor ]John Kasich
John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasi ...
in a Republican presidential debate sketch. He later portrayed his friend Pete Buttigieg
Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...
during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Uni ...
and Roger Goodell
Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chose ...
during the 2021 NFL season
The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...
.
Jost has worked in multiple roles related to comedy. He has performed as a stand-up comedian, appearing on ''Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon.[ About page< ...](_blank)
'', TBS, and HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. He was selected as a "New Face" at the Montréal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
Just for Laughs festival in 2009, and has since appeared at the Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
Just for Laughs festival in 2011 and 2012 and the Montréal festival again in 2010 and 2012. Jost has published four "Shouts and Murmurs" pieces in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' magazine and has also contributed to ''The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of '' The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors ...
'', ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American Liberalism, progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original c ...
'', ''The Staten Island Advance'' and ''Radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, ...
''. He wrote the screenplay of and played a minor role in the 2015 comedy film ''Staten Island Summer
''Staten Island Summer'' is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Rhys Thomas, written by Colin Jost and starring Graham Phillips, Zack Pearlman, John DeLuca, Bobby Moynihan, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Owen Benjamin and Ashle ...
'', and he also had a minor role as Paul in the 2016 romcom feature ''How to Be Single
''How to Be Single'' is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Christian Ditter and written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox, based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. It stars Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Da ...
''. In January 2016, Jost opened for comedian Liam McEneaney's album recording at The Bell House in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...
. In late 2018, Jost and Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
appeared in an advertising campaign for Izod
The Izod Corporation (officially stylized as IZOD) is an American midrange clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, and footwear and accessories. It is a division of Authentic Brands Group, and is currently m ...
.
Jost, along with Michael Che, appeared on the March 4, 2019, episode of WWE's ''Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...
'', where both were announced as special correspondents for WrestleMania 35
WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on ...
. In the March 4 episode, they got involved in a storyline with wrestler Braun Strowman
Adam Joseph Scherr (born September 6, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and former strongman. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Braun Strowman.
In WWE, he is a one-time U ...
, which resulted in both Jost and Che becoming participants in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. At the event, Jost and Che went under the ring for the majority of the match and then tried to eliminate Strowman while he was trying to do the same to the Hardy Boyz
The Hardys, also known as The Hardy Boyz, are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy, who are currently appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The team is currently inactive due to Jeff ...
. Jost attempted to calm the situation by using his therapist, but Strowman chokeslammed him and eliminated the two comedians in quick succession, winning the battle royal.
In July 2020, Jost released a memoir entitled ''A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir''. The book was well received and appeared on the ''New York Times Bestseller List''.
Personal life
Jost was dorm-mates with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg
Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...
while the two lived in Leverett House
Leverett House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It is situated along the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge and consists of McKinlock Hall, constructed in 1925; two 12-story towers completed in 1 ...
at Harvard. In 2015, Jost donated money to Buttigieg's mayoral reelection campaign. Subsequently, during Buttigieg's presidential campaign, Jost portrayed Buttigieg in the 45th season of ''SNL''.[
Jost began a relationship with actress ]Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. '' Time'' magazine named her one of the 10 ...
in May 2017. In May 2019, the two were engaged. They married in October 2020, at their New York home. Johansson gave birth to their son in August 2021.
Filmography
Film
Television
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
* ''A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir''. Crown. .
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jost, Colin
1982 births
Living people
American male comedians
American male screenwriters
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
American television writers
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
American male television writers
Peabody Award winners
People from Grymes Hill, Staten Island
The New Yorker people
Writers from Staten Island
Writers Guild of America Award winners
Regis High School (New York City) alumni
Comedians from New York (state)
Screenwriters from New York (state)
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American male writers