Lauren Ashley Smith is an American writer, comedian, and producer. She is the head writer of HBO's ''

A Black Lady Sketch Show ''A Black Lady Sketch Show'' is an American television sketch comedy series created by Robin Thede for HBO. The show consists of comedy sketches performed by a main cast of Black women, currently consisting of producer and creator Thede, Gabrielle ...

'' (2019–), for which she has received three Emmy Award nominations. Smith previously worked for ''

The Rundown with Robin Thede ''The Rundown with Robin Thede'' was an American late-night talk show and variety television program that premiered on October 12, 2017, on BET. The show was hosted by comedian and writer Robin Thede, the former head writer and correspondent on ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Watch What Happens Live'', and '' Fashion Queens''.

Early life and education

Smith was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has two sisters, Mariah and Rachel. Her parents, Rochelle and Jonathan, are administrators at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. Smith received her bachelor's degree from

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

Career

Smith's writing career started as a freelancer for ''

'', ''Watch What Happens Live'', and '' Fashion Queens''. In 2017, Smith was hired as the head writer for ''

'', which ran for one season. Thede later hired Smith again as the head writer and co-executive producer of ''

''. Smith is the first Black woman to be a head writer on a TV sketch show. The series debuted in 2019, and Smith received

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series (2020, 2021) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series (2021). In 2021, it was announced that Smith will create and produce an American reboot of ''Timewasters'', a British time-travel comedy series. 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 ...

reboot will center four present-day Black New Yorkers who find themselves in the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

. In August 2021, she signed an overall deal with

CBS Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

to create comedy content for the network's broadcast and streaming platforms.

Personal life

Smith is a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

and identifies as she/her. She married her wife, Brooke Helburn, in 2015.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

For ''A Black Lady Sketch Show:''

* 2020 – Nominee,

Primetime Emmy Awards 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 ...

, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series * 2021 – Nominee, Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series * 2021 – Nominee, Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lauren Ashley Living people 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American LGBT people African-American screenwriters American women screenwriters Writers from St. Louis African-American female comedians Comedians from Missouri American women television writers Dickinson College alumni Entertainers from Missouri American lesbian writers LGBT television producers Lesbian comedians Lesbian screenwriters American LGBT comedians American LGBT screenwriters African-American LGBT people LGBT people from Missouri Year of birth missing (living people)