Jessica Williams (actress)

Jessica Renee Williams (born July 31, 1989) is an American actress and comedian best known for her work as a senior correspondent on The Daily Show and as co-host of the podcast 2 Dope Queens.

Jessica Williams
Williams in 2016
Born
Jessica Renee Williams

(1989-07-31) July 31, 1989
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.[1]
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach
OccupationActress, comedian
Years active2006–present

Early life

Jessica Renee Williams was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended Nathaniel Narbonne High School where she flourished in the school's drama department. She made her television debut as a series regular on the Nickelodeon series Just for Kicks in 2006[2] and in 2012, she became The Daily Show's youngest correspondent ever.[3][4] She attended California State University, Long Beach.[5] Results of a DNA test traced Williams's maternal ancestry to the Bamileke people of Cameroon.[6]

Career

Williams made her Daily Show debut on January 11, 2012.[7] Williams is a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.[5] Williams also made appearances on Season 3 of HBO's Girls.[8] She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York[9] and Los Angeles, California.[10] She appears in the film People Places Things. She co-hosted the comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens with Phoebe Robinson. Williams appears in an HBO special spun off from the podcast in February, 2018.[11] She appeared on her last Daily Show episode on June 30, 2016.[12] She is the star of the 2017 Netflix comedy movie The Incredible Jessica James, in which she portrays a character whom the Guardian described as "a struggling Brooklyn-based playwright navigating the murky waters of modern romance while waiting impatiently for her big break."[13] She appeared in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, as Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks, a teacher from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[14]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Crying in Public Coffee Shop Crier Short film
2013 Delivery Man Tanya
2015 People Places Things Kat
2015 Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Herself
2015 Tap Shoes & Violins Charlie Short film
2017 The Incredible Jessica James Jessica James Also executive producer
2018 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks
2019 Corporate Animals Jess
2019 Booksmart Miss Fine

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Just for Kicks Vida Atwood 13 episodes
2012–2016 The Daily Show Herself (correspondent) 141 episodes
2014 Girls Karen 4 episodes
2019 The Twilight Zone Rei Tanaka Episode: "Six Degrees of Freedom"

Podcast
Year Title Role Notes
2016–2018 2 Dope Queens Herself (co-host) Also co-creator, writer, executive producer
gollark: <:bismuth3:793804877162610728> <:bismuth:793803997130522634> <:bismuth2:793804356721704960> <:bismuth4:793805091269771294>
gollark: <:small_stellated_dodecahedro:793896625856446464>
gollark: It's great. We have over 900 bots.
gollark: <:apioform:812013353165389875>, as they say.
gollark: So, how are things on YOUR mysterious Discord server?

References
  1. "The Birth of Jessica Williams". California Birth Index. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  2. Gilbert, Matthew (April 7, 2006). "'Just for Kicks' shows girls how to get along". The Boston Globe.
  3. Del Signore, John (January 19, 2012). "Jon Stewart: SOPA Will Drive Us To Libraries "Like A Common Masturbator"". Gothamist. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012.
  4. Czajkowski, Elise (February 27, 2014). "Talking to 'Daily Show' Correspondent Jessica Williams". Splitsider. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  5. "Jessica Williams". Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  6. The Daily Show Correspondents Discover Their African Ancestry
  7. "Indecision 2012 - In the South of Madness". The Daily Show. January 11, 2012.
  8. Williams, Lauren (January–February 2014). "The Daily Show's Jessica Williams on Race, Comedy, and Her Role in "Girls."". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  9. "FACES: THE DAILY SHOW'S JESSICA WILLIAMS INTERVIEW". Nixon. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  10. 2 Dope Queens Podcast, Episode 28, A Sex Toy in Every Port
  11. "'2 Dope Queens' Jessica Williams, Phoebe Robinson on Taking HBO by Storm". Rolling Stone.
  12. Rahman, Ray (June 29, 2016). "Jessica Williams is leaving The Daily Show — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  13. Nevins, Jake (July 26, 2017). "The incredible Jessica Williams: 'Great comedy comes from feeling like you've gotten punched up'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  14. "Jessica Williams Joins J.K. Rowling to Announce Her Fantastic Beasts Character". Vulture.
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