Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress, best known for her work writing for the sketch series ''

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. Michaels currently serves a ...

,'' being recognized with a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series debuted in 1966, and has been annually awarded most years since the mid-1960s. It has had a large number of name changes, mostly involving the addition or subtraction of the wo ...

and seven

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 ...

. In 2019 Pell was honored with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence. Pell has produced, written, and performed in numerous TV series, including ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

, A.P. Bio, ''Love'', and

Mapleworth Murders ''Mapleworth Murders'' is an American comedy- mystery series. It stars Paula Pell, John Lutz, J. B. Smoove and Hayley Magnus. Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers serve as executive producers. It premiered on August 10, 2020, on Quibi. Premise A murde ...

,'' and has worked as a writer for awards ceremonies like the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, the

Golden Globes 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 ...

and the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

. As a voiceover artist, she has voiced characters in ''Inside Out'', ''Big Mouth'', and ''

Bless the Harts ''Bless the Harts'' is an American animated sitcom created by Emily Spivey for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Debuting on September 29, 2019, the series is executive produced by Spivey, Andy Bobrow, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Kristen Wiig, ...

.'' Pell has also appeared in several films and TV series, including ''Sisters'', ''Other People'', and ''Wine Country''. Since 2021, Pell has been a main cast member on the

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

original series ''

Girls5eva ''Girls5eva'' is an American musical comedy television series created by Meredith Scardino that premiered on May 6, 2021, on Peacock. The series centers on four women who were part of a girl group named Girls5eva, which was briefly popular aroun ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

, Pell wanted to be an actor from an early age. She studied acting and visual art at Orlando's

Seminole Community College Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Junior College." The coll ...

and the

University of Tennessee at Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. She took a job at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

, working in the nightclubs of the resort's adults-only Pleasure Island section. Pell was a writer for ''

'' from 1995 to 2013. She is credited with creating some of its memorable characters such as Debbie Downer, the Culps,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

's Omeletteville mascot, and the Spartan Cheerleaders, among others. She also was a producer and writer for the sitcom ''

'', and is credited with writing the episodes "Argus" and "Floyd". In 2006, a pilot she wrote, ''Thick and Thin'', was picked up by NBC for 13 episodes, with Pell as executive producer, but it never aired in the United States. Pell has worked with

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

providing additional writing for the films ''

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 ...

'' and ''

This is 40 ''This Is 40'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Judd Apatow and starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. A " sort-of sequel" to Apatow's 2007 film '' Knocked Up'', the movie centers on married couple Pete (Rudd) and Debb ...

''. As an actress, Pell appeared in several episodes of ''30 Rock'' as the wife of

Pete Hornberger '' 30 Rock'' is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of t ...

, and played the mother of

Ron Swanson Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman from the situation comedy television series ''Parks and Recreation'' on NBC, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. In the series, Ron is the director of the Parks ...

in a 2011 episode of ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. She has also appeared as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

or in bit parts in dozens of SNL sketches. She voices Gadget Gal in the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

original series ''

The Awesomes ''The Awesomes'' is an American adult animated comedy streaming television series created by Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker for Hulu. Meyers and Shoemaker serve as executive producers alongside Lorne Michaels. It debuted on August 1, 2013 and en ...

''. She has a small cameo in the 2013

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues''. She co-created web series ''Hudson Valley Ballers'' with fellow ''SNL'' writer and long time friend

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

with whom she also co-stars.

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 ...

produced and starred in Pell's first feature screenplay, ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

'' (2015). Pell also played the dream producer and Mom's Anger in the 2015

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

film '' Inside Out''. In 2016–2018, she guest-starred in the TV series ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' as Erika. She also played a character based on Elaine Stritch in the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

musical episode Co-op on ''Documentary Now!'' She appeared in one episode of

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25 ...

in 2017, season 3 episode 10. She plays Helen Henry DeMarcus on the show, '' A.P. Bio''. She also plays Aunt Mo in the Showtime series ''

SMILF ''SMILF'' is an American sitcom starring, created, written, and directed by Frankie Shaw. It was based on her short film of the same title. The series premiered on Showtime on November 5, 2017. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term " ...

''. Pell co-starred alongside several other ''Saturday Night Live'' alumnae in the 2019 Netflix original comedy ''

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resort ...

''. On August 10, 2020, the comedy-mystery ''

'', which she also co-wrote and executive produced, aired on

Quibi Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The serv ...

. Pell was nominated at the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. These awards, like the guest acting awards, are not presented at the Primetime Emmy Awards show, but, rather, at th ...

for her performance. Between 2020 and 2021, Pell voiced several characters in the animated series ''

''. In 2021, she currently stars as Gloria McManus in the

comedy series ''

''.

Personal life

Pell is openly gay. She was married for 17 years before getting divorced. She later married Janine Brito on November 13, 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Producer and screenwriter

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, Paula 1963 births American comedy writers American women comedians American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American television producers American women television producers American television writers American lesbian actresses American lesbian writers LGBT screenwriters Lesbian comedians LGBT people from Illinois Living people 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American comedians American women television writers 21st-century American screenwriters