Noël Kristi Wells (born December 23, 1986) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. She is known for her television roles as Rachel Silva in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

comedy-drama ''

Master of None ''Master of None'' is an American comedy drama television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015, on Netflix. The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, with the first two seasons starring Ansari in the lead rol ...

'' (20152017), as the voice of Kelsey Pokoly in the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

animated television series ''

Craig of the Creek ''Craig of the Creek'' is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode debuted directly on the TV on December 1, 2017. The series premiered online on February 19, 201 ...

'' (20182025), as the voice of Ensign

D'Vana Tendi D'Vana Tendi, commonly known simply as Tendi, is a fictional character from the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Lower Decks''. She is the first Orion (Star Trek), Orion main character in a ''Star Trek'' show. Among Orions, ...

in the

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animated series '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' (20202024), and her brief tenure as a featured player on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' during its 39th season between 2013 and 2014. She also wrote, directed, and starred in the film '' Mr. Roosevelt'' (2017). She has also ventured into music; her debut album ''It's So Nice!'' was released in 2019.

Early life

Wells was born in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Her father is a Tunisian immigrant, and her mother is of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent. She says her parents named her Noël because she was born two days before Christmas. Wells attended Memorial High School in

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Victoria Metropolitan Statis ...

, where she was active in speech and debate and graduated as

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

. She graduated from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in 2010 with degrees in Plan II Honors and Radio-Television-Film. While attending college, she was a cast member of

Esther's Follies Esther's Follies is a modern-day vaudeville theatre located on 6th Street in downtown Austin, Texas. The group is named after actress Esther Williams. Acts incorporate magic, juggling, singing, dancing, and sketches on current events. The show ...

, Austin's long-running musical satire show, where she performed in sketches and as a ventriloquist and magician's assistant. Before becoming an actress she worked as an editor and did motion graphics.

Career

In 2010, Wells moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and performed at the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Ad ...

with the sketch team "New Money". She appeared in numerous

Cracked.com Cracked.com is an American website that was based on ''Cracked'' magazine. It was founded in 2005 by Jack O'Brien.Axon, SamuelStreamy Awards 2010: Here Are the Winners ''Mashable''. April 11, 2010. In 2007, Cracked had a couple of hundred thou ...

and

CollegeHumor Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...

videos, and was known for her own sketch and parody videos, which have over 18 million views on YouTube. In 2013, Wells joined the cast of ''

'' during its 39th season as a featured player along with fellow Upright Citizens Brigade performers

John Milhiser John Milhiser (born November 29, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He first garnered attention for his work as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch group Serious Lunch, before achieving further notice for his brief stint as a c ...

Kyle Mooney Kyle James Kozub Mooney (born September 4, 1984) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. Mooney was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2013 to 2022. In 2017, he co-wrote and starr ...

, and

Beck Bennett Christopher Beck Bennett (born October 1, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons, joining for its 39th season in 2013 and leaving at the end of its ...

, as well as writer Mike O'Brien and stand-up comedian

Brooks Wheelan Brooks Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster. First breaking through as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during the 2013–2014 season, Whe ...

. On July 15, 2014, it was announced that Wells would not be returning for a second season.

''Saturday Night Live'' impressions

Wells has made guest appearances on television programs such as ''

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'' and ''

Comedy Bang! Bang! ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today! It is hosted by writer and ...

'', as well as doing recurring voice work on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's ''

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'',

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

's ''

Wander Over Yonder ''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who travels across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of ...

, and

''. In 2015, she co-starred on the critically acclaimed

comedy ''

'', created by

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari ( ; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He played Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and created and starred in the Netflix series ''Master of None'' (2 ...

and

Alan Yang Alan Michael Yang ( zh, t=楊維榕; born August 22, 1983) is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ans ...

. Wells played Rachel, the love-interest of Ansari's character. Hitfix's

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

said the "Dev/Rachel story is so smartly developed, with such strong chemistry between Ansari and Wells." Richard Lawson of '' Vanity Fair'' said her portrayal of Rachel was a "star-making...performance. It's subtle, but not minimalist or deadpan." All 10 episodes premiered on November 6, 2015, and it won the 2016 Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy. In March 2017, Wells wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film '' Mr. Roosevelt'', which premiered at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

film festival in Narrative Spotlight. It won multiple awards including the Audience Award and Louis Black Lone Star Jury Award at SXSW, and Best US Narrative Feature at the Traverse City Film Festival. Wells released her debut album ''It's So Nice'' on August 30, 2019. Written and recorded over a two-year period, it was her first foray as a musician and singer-songwriter. , Wells had a television show in development for the streaming service

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

. In 2020, Wells was cast as a voice actor in the animated series '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' as Ensign Tendi, a new

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

crewmember (one of four main characters) aboard the ''USS Cerritos,'' working in the ship's medical bay.

Personal life

Wells has lived in

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Her photography has been featured in exhibitions and the literary magazine ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was founded in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ' ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Discography

Albums

*''It's So Nice!'' (2019) *''Apples and Wine for My Baby Boo-Boo'' (2025)

References

External links

* *
User Profile
at

Photography page
at

Flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Noel 1986 births Living people Actresses from San Antonio American impressionists (entertainers) American actresses of Mexican descent American people of Tunisian descent American photographers American sketch comedians American television actresses American women comedians American women screenwriters Hispanic and Latino American actresses Moody College of Communication alumni Screenwriters from Texas Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters Comedians from San Antonio