Who is Vanessa Bayer?
Many people believe that laughing is a great way to relieve stress, and actress and comedian Vanessa Bayer is one of those people, who find the meaning of ‘comic relief’ by starring in the famous TV show “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). Let us tell you more about this great performer, who’s earned an Emmy nomination, three Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) awards, and an American Comedy Award, USA nomination for her playing in this show from 2010 to 2017.
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Vanessa Polster Bayer was born under the zodiac sign of Scorpio on 14 November 1981, in Orange, Ohio USA; she holds American nationality and her ethnicity is Ashkenazi Jewish. She has over 45 acting credits to her name, and besides the mentioned show, has starred in movies such as “Trainwreck”, “Office Christmas Party” and “Carrie Pilby” among others, plus numerous television series.
Early life, family, and education
She was raised in Orange, a suburb of Cleveland, by her parents Carolyn and Todd, alongside her brother Jonah, who is known as the guitarist of the punk band United Nations.
At the age of 15, Vanessa was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and as she said, while she battled the disease, she discovered that laughing and joking brought her a feeling of relief, and added: ‘I don’t know if it made me funnier, but it was so amazing, how it made everything be O.K.’
Since then, Vanessa is going through life with a big smile on her face, and as she said, she enjoys making other people laugh, even if the moment is hard.
Speaking about her educational background, she attended Orange High School, and upon matriculating in 2000, enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in communications and French in 2004.
Acting career
Vanessa made her acting debut portraying Kate Clark in the movie “Off the Cuff” in 2009, and then made her first television appearance in “Saturday Night Live” in 2010, and was next seen the following year as Corrine in the series “I Wanna Have Your Baby”.
In 2012, she starred in movies such as “Adventures in the Sin Bin”, and she was seen as a guest star in two episodes of “Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Summer Edition”, followed in 2013 by her voice role as Flight Attendant in “Despicable Me 2”.
Vanessa continued on appearing in series such as “The Mindy Project”, “TripTank”, “Comedy Bang! Bang!”, and “Man Seeking Woman” before she was cast to play Nikki in the comedy “Trainwreck”, alongside Amy Schumer, Brie Larson and Bill Hader in 2015.
One of Vanessa’s notable television roles is her portrayal of Janessa Slater in “Sound Advice”, plus her voice role as Doctor Jill Stein in “The Awesomes”, before she portrayed Tara in the movie “Carrie Pilby”, followed by her 2016 role as Allison in “Office Christmas Party”, also starring Olivia Munn, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman.
Vanessa next had a guest role as Marjorie in “Modern Family”, and a recurring role in “Portlandia”, while she portrayed Bitsy Bear in the movie “The Polka King” in 2017, followed by her appearances in “The Simpsons”, “Crashing”, and “Love” before her role in the romantic comedy drama “Ibiza” in 2018.
In the following years, Vanessa was seen in numerous series, including “Drunk History”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Will & Grace”, while her most recent movie role was in “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” in 2021.
“Saturday Night Live” rose to prominence
As mentioned, Vanessa began performing in “SNL” in 2010, and already in the 2012-2013 season, she was being praised by critics, and the magazine Rolling Stone said that she is ‘Saturday Night Live’s secret weapon’, while the entertainment news website HitFix called her ‘one of the strongest members of the ensemble’.
Some of her recurring characters in “SNL” were her portrayals of former porn star Brecky, Miss Meadows -a – poetry teacher, housemaid Rosa, and Laura Parsons, a child actress who portrays roles originally played by adults.
According to critics, some of her most hilarious moments in the show were her impressions of celebrities.
In 2014, Vanessa was nominated for the American Comedy Award for Best Comedy Supporting Actress – TV, and also for the OFTA Award for Best Female Performance in a Fiction Program. In the following year, she was again nominated for the same OFTA Award, followed by her nominations for OFTA Award – Best Female Performance in a Variety Program in 2017.
In the same year, Vanessa was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for playing various characters.
Why did Vanessa Bayer leave SNL?
When Vanessa left the show, her fans were disappointed to learn that they would no longer enjoy her performance, and wanted to know the reason for her decision to leave.
Vanessa felt that she owed that to her audience, and in her interview for ‘hollywoodreporte.com’, she stated: ‘It felt like it was time for me. I had seven seasons, and just felt like it was time for someone else to do that job.’
What is she doing now?
Soon after leaving the show, Vanessa continued her acting career, and her fans will be happy to hear that she is now filming a new series entitled “I Love That for You”, also starring Bess Armstrong and Molly Shannon. Her fans can also enjoy her podcast series “How Did We Get Weird” on podcast.apple.com, which she hosts alongside her brother, Jonah Bayer.
She’s active on her social media accounts, and her followers can keep track of her life and work through Twitter and Instagram.
Personal life
Vanessa prefers to keep her love life a secret, and once she stated for Cosmopolitan that she has no time for dating or a boyfriend, as she’s focused on her career. She hasn’t been married or engaged, and there is no information regarding any previous relationships.
Vanessa’s age is 40; she has long, brown hair and brown eyes, weighs around 130lbs (60kgs) and is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall.
As of April 2022, her net worth has been estimated at close to $2 million, earned largely thanks to her acting career.
