Janelle James is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her role as Ava Coleman in the television series ''

Abbott Elementary ''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as a second-grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, a fictional predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. The ensemble ...

'', for which she won a

Black Reel Award The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

, a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

, and an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

, in addition to nominations for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, a Critics' Choice Award, and an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

. Her writing credits include ''

Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...

'', and she acted on the programs '' Crashing'', ''

Corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and re ...

'', and ''

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

''. Her debut comedy album ''Black and Mild'' was released in 2017. She was named one of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s 10 Comics to Watch for 2020.

Career

Stand-up and television

James began her career in 2009 at an open mic she attended while living in

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, Illinois. She described her style of comedy as "just talking shit" and her stand-up includes a range of topics such as Trump, motherhood, being a woman over 35, and dating. James named

Bill Burr William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, most notably ''Why Do I Do This?'' (2008), ''Let It Go'' (2010), '' You People Are ...

, Hadiyah Robinson,

John Early John Early may refer to: *John Early (educator) (1814–1873), Irish-American Jesuit educator *John Early (politician) (1828–1877), Lieutenant Governor of Illinois *John Early (bishop) (1786–1873), American Methodist prelate *John Early (comedi ...

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainm ...

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, and Kareem Green as favorite comedians. In 2016, James' work was recognized by Just for Laughs and ''Brooklyn''. She gained wider prominence as the opening act for

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

's 2017 Total Blackout tour. That year, she released her debut comedy album ''Black and Mild''. The show was recorded at Acme Comedy Company in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. She performed on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's 2018 comedy series ''The Comedy Lineup''. She was also slated to perform at the network's inaugural Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival based in Los Angeles in 2020. James was a staff writer for ''The Rundown with Robin Thede'' (2017) and the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

comedy ''

'', and also acted in a recurring role on the show. She has also appeared on the shows '' Crashing'', ''

'', and is both a writer and voice actor for ''

''. She was a featured comic on Netflix's ''

The Standups ''The Standups'' is an American comedy streaming television series. The series is a collection of 30-minute recordings of stand-up comedians, compiled and released by Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-th ...

'' in 2021. She gained wide prominence in her role as a main cast member on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

comedy ''

''. Her performance as the self-involved principal Ava Coleman has been hailed by critics. James garnered award nominations including a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics' Choice Award. In 2022, James hosted the ABC game show '' The Final Straw''. She will host the 2023

Writers Guild of America Awards The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

Podcasts

In 2019 she hosted ''Strong Black Laughs'', an interview podcast featuring a variety of established Black comedians, including

Luenell Luenell Campbell (born March 12, 1959), known mononymously as Luenell, is an American comedian and actress. Career In the early-1990s, Luenell appeared regularly on ''Soul Beat TV'' on the Oakland, California cable station KSBT, along with prom ...

and

Sherri Shepherd Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, ''Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the day ...

. She hosted ''You In Danger, Gurl'', a comedy podcast about relationship red flags and bizarre dating experiences, in 2020.

Personal life

James was raised on St. Thomas and moved to the United States mainland when she was 16. She resides 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, be ...

, New York and has two teenage sons.

Discography

* 2017: ''Black and Mild''

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

* 2016 – ''Brooklyn'''s 50 Funniest People * 2016 – Just For Laughs New Faces * 2020 – ''

'''s 10 Comics to Watch

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Janelle Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women comedians American women screenwriters 21st-century American actresses Comedians from New York City American women podcasters American stand-up comedians African-American female comedians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people American people of Virgin Islands descent American people of Caribbean descent People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands