Jessica St. Clair is an American actress and improvisational comedian from the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior to ...

. With frequent collaborator

Lennon Parham Lennon Kathleen Parham (born October 26, 1975) is an American actress and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. With frequent collaborator Jessica St. Clair, she created and co-starred in NBC's ''Best Friends Foreve ...

, she co-created and co-starred in NBC's '' Best Friends Forever'' and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

's '' Playing House''.

Life and career

St. Clair was born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

and raised in Westfield,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, where she attended

Westfield High School Westfield High School may refer to: * The Westfield School, Perry, Georgia * Westfield High School (Westfield, Indiana) * Westfield High School (Massachusetts), Westfield, Massachusetts * Westfield Technical Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts * West ...

, graduating as part of the class of 1994. She is a graduate of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

and a former classmate of fellow Upright Citizens Brigade performer Jason Mantzoukas. She began her comedy career as a regular improviser and sketch performer at the

in New York and Los Angeles, originally as a member of the improv team "Mother". Her first major television work was as a regular panelist on the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

series ''

Best Week Ever ''Best Week Ever'' is an American comedy series created and executive produced by Fred Graver. The series originally aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, on VH1.Harris, Scott"VH1 Cancels 'Best Week Ever'". ''Inside TV''. January 13, 20 ...

'', offering comedic insights on pop culture and the news of the week. She co-starred in the short-lived

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 ...

sitcom ''

In the Motherhood ''In the Motherhood'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC as a midseason entry and ran from March 26 to June 25, 2009.

'' in 2009. St. Clair has gained notice for her frequent guest appearances (often alongside performing partner

) on podcasts such as '' Comedy Bang! Bang!'', in which she plays the show's teenage intern Marissa Wompler. In 2015, St. Clair and Parham spun off their characters in a new Earwolf podcast called ''

WOMP It Up! ''Womp It Up!'' (stylized as ''WOMP It Up!'') is a comedy podcast hosted by Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, in character as high school student Marissa Wompler and her Stars program teacher Charlotte Listler. The podcast premiered on the Ear ...

'', with St. Clair as host Marissa Wompler and Parham co-hosting as Marissa's teacher Miss Listler. Frequent guests on the podcast include Brian Huskey as Marissa's stepdad Seth and Jason Mantzoukas as Marissa's former flame Eric "Gutterballs" Gutterman. The podcast ran through the summer of 2015, returning after a hiatus on November 16, 2015. St. Clair and Parham created and starred in the NBC comedy series '' Best Friends Forever'', which premiered on April 4, 2012 and aired for one season, followed by '' Playing House'', which premiered on

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on April 29, 2014 and concluded its third and final season in July 2017. St. Clair has played recurring roles on television shows such as ''

Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep'' ...

'', '' Weeds'', '' The McCarthys'', '' Marry Me'', '' American Housewife'', '' Worst Week'' and ''

United States of Tara ''United States of Tara'' is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which aired on Showtime from 2009 to 2011. The series follows the life of Tara (Toni Collette), a suburban artist and mother coping with dissociative identit ...

''. She also played the role of Suzanne, the long-suffering wife of host Forrest MacNeil on the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

series '' Review''. St. Clair's notable work in film includes supporting roles in ''

Bridesmaids Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...

'', '' She's Out of My League'', ''

Afternoon Delight "Afternoon Delight" is a hit song recorded by Starland Vocal Band, known for its close harmony and sexually suggestive wordplay. It was written by Bill Danoff, one of the members of the band. "Afternoon Delight" charted well in New Zealand, pea ...

'' and ''

Enough Said ''Enough Said'' is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. The film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette and Ben Falcone. Louis-Dreyfus plays Eva, a divorced m ...

''. St. Clair had a recurring role on the

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 ...

comedy series ''

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

'' as structural engineer and civil contractor Kelly King.

Personal life

St. Clair is married to playwright and poet

Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O'Br ...

. They have a daughter, Isobel Kelly O'Brien. In 2015, St. Clair said that she and Lennon Parham had both learned

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...

. In 2017, St. Clair revealed that she had undergone treatment for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

after being diagnosed in September 2015, and this was incorporated into the third season of ''Playing House'' when her character Emma was similarly diagnosed.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Clair, Jessica Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New Jersey American film actresses American women podcasters American podcasters American television actresses American women television producers American television writers American voice actresses American women comedians Middlebury College alumni People from Princeton, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey American women television writers Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters Television producers from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)