Robby Hoffman is an American-Canadian writer, comedian, and talk show host. Born in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

, she began her career as a writer and is known for her work on ''

The Chris Gethard Show ''The Chris Gethard Show'' was a phone-in comedy and variety talk show created and hosted by Chris Gethard. Initially a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, the show debuted on public-access channel Manhattan Neighborh ...

'', ''Baroness Von Sketch Show'', ''

Workin' Moms ''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno Rinaldi Odd Squad ''Odd Squad'' (stylized as ''ODD SQUAD'') is a children's live action educational television series that premiered on TVOKids in Canada and PBS Kids in the United States on November 26, 2014. Similar to ''Cyberchase'' and ''Peg + Cat'', other ma ...

'', the latter of which won a Children's & Family Emmy Award for outstanding writing in 2019. Hoffman released her first stand-up special, ''I'm Nervous'', in 2019. She was named one of

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 ...

's ''Up Next'' comedians in 2018, appeared on Conan O'Brien's ''Comics to Watch'' list, as well as on

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

's ''The Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2020''.

Early life and education

Hoffman was born 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, the seventh of ten siblings in a

Hasidic Jewish Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

family. She is of Russian descent. Hoffman jokingly described her parents, who converted from

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

to Hasidic Judaism: "They're two people who joined a Hasidic cult and had ten kids, and I'm the product of it." Her mother later became a

Messianic Jew Messianic Judaism ( he, or , ) is a modernist and syncretic movement of Protestant Christianity that incorporates some elements of Judaism and other Jewish traditions into evangelicalism. It emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier ...

. During her early childhood, Hoffman's parents divorced; she and her siblings were subsequently raised by their single mother in her native

Montreal 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 ...

, Canada. Hoffman has said her mother struggled financially to support their family, and that she lived in poverty. After high school, Hoffman enrolled at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, where she studied accounting and communications; after graduation, she enrolled in the graduate CPA program at McGill, only to quit a few hours into her first day of the program to pursue a career in comedy.

Career

Hoffman began her writing career and was soon garnering recognition for her work, while also writing and performing stand-up comedy. In 2018 she was a headlining act for the New York Comedy Festival. In 2019, she recorded her first one-hour comedy special ''I'm Nervous'' at the ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival in Toronto for

Crave TV Crave (initially named CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily American-based se ...

. Hoffman's first television writing job was for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

Odd Squad ''Odd Squad'' (stylized as ''ODD SQUAD'') is a children's live action educational television series that premiered on TVOKids in Canada and PBS Kids in the United States on November 26, 2014. Similar to ''Cyberchase'' and ''Peg + Cat'', other ma ...

''; she won a 2019

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for her work on the series. Hoffman was a staff writer for ''

Workin' Moms ''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno Rinaldi Baroness Von Sketch Show ''Baroness von Sketch Show'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy series. It debuted on CBC Television on June 14, 2016. Produced by Frantic Films, the series is an all-female comedy series starring Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Bro ...

''. She was a staff writer on ''

''; after its cancellation, Hoffman starred in episodes of ''The Chris Gethard Show with Robby Hoffman'' on both MNN and ''Chris Gethard Presents,'' as well as taking the show live to the Montreal Just For Laughs festival. She hosted ''Robby Hoffman Consulting Group'' (formerly ''Dykevice''), a live call-in advice show on Gethard's comedy network ''

Planet Scum Live ''Planet Scum Live'' was an American comedy network founded by Chris Gethard and broadcast live on the Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation ...

''. In 2021 it was announced that ''Rivkah'', an autobiographical comedy series created by and starring Hoffman, is in development with

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 ...

and

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

Personal life

Hoffman identifies as queer. According to her, her family was supportive when she came out as 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 she is close with them. In August 2023, Hoffman announced that she is dating ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...

'' alum

Gabby Windey Gabriela Maria Windey (born January 2, 1991) is an American television personality who appeared on season 26 of '' The Bachelor'', and co-starred in season 19 of '' The Bachelorette'' alongside Rachel Recchia. Early life and education Winde ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Robby Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian Jews 21st-century Canadian women American comedy writers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American stand-up comedians American women comedians American women television writers Canadian comedy writers Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian women comedians Canadian women television writers Comedians from Brooklyn Comedians from Montreal Daytime Emmy Award winners Jewish American comedians Jewish Canadian comedians Lesbian comedians LGBT Jews McGill University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian LGBT comedians American LGBT comedians 21st-century Canadian LGBT people