Sunday 26 June 2016

Jenny Slate

Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American comedian, actress, voice artist and author best known for her role as Donna Stern in Obvious Child, as well as being the co-creator of the Marcel the Shell with Shoes On short films and children's book series. She is also known for her season as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2009 to 2010 and for her appearances in shows such as House of Lies, Married, Parks and Recreation, Bob's Burgers, Hello Ladies and Kroll Show.

Slate was born Jenny Sarah Slate on March 25, 1982 in Milton, Massachusetts, to Ron Slate (born 1950), a Massachusetts-based poet and author, and Nancy (née Gilson), a ceramicist. She is the middle child of three, with two sisters named Abigail and Stacey. She was raised in a Jewish family. One of her grandmothers, whose family was from Russia and Turkey, was born in Cuba and raised in France.

After graduating from Milton Academy as the valedictorian, she attended Columbia University as a literature major, where she helped form the improv group Fruit Paunch, starred in the Varsity Show and met Gabe Liedman. Slate graduated from Columbia University in 2004.

In August 2010, she co-wrote and voiced Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, which garnered viral success. This led to Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, Two. Slate also wrote a "Marcel"-themed children's book that was released on November 1, 2011. Her first major film role was as Zoe in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked; more films followed in 2012, including the voice of Ted's mother in The Lorax.

Slate appears as Liz B. in the recurring "PubLIZity" sketches in Kroll Show, as well as many other recurring and one-off characters, performing in some capacity in almost every episode, much like Jon Daly.

In September 2012, it was announced that Slate had been hired to write the script for a reboot of the Looney Tunes franchise for Warner Bros. The film was described as being a "live action / CGI hybrid". Her first appearance in Parks and Recreation was in the 2013 episode "Bailout", in which she portrayed Mona-Lisa Saperstein. Following her success on the NBC show, Slate released and starred in a 12 episode long web mini-series on youtube called Catherine, celebrating late 1980's and early 1990's soap opera aesthetics. On July 23, 2013, she appeared in Drunk History retelling the history of Coca-Cola.

Slate co-starred with Judy Greer and Nat Faxon in the first season of the FX series Married. She left the series as a series regular in season two, but still appeared in a few episodes. Sarah Burns took her place in the series.

In September 2012, Slate married filmmaker Dean Fleischer-Camp, with whom she collaborated on the Marcel the Shell With Shoes On books and short films.

She lived in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, before moving with her husband to Los Angeles in the early 2010s.

In an interview with MTV News in June 2014, when asked if she is a feminist, Slate stated, "Am I a feminist? Fuck yeah, I'm a feminist! I think that unfortunately, people who are maybe threatened by feminism think that it's about setting your bra on fire and being aggressive, and I think that's really wrong and really dangerous."

It was confirmed in June 2016 that she has been dating Chris Evans and has split form husband Dean Fleischer-Camp.

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