Janelle James has stood out in her role on ABC's highly-rated comedy series Abbott Elementary for playing the obnoxious and hilarious school principal, Ava Coleman. She doesn't have a ton of acting credits, so fans may wonder where she came from, given the fact that she's so talented and hilarious.
Turns out, James has been working as a writer for several years. Most of her acting appearances have been in guest roles on television shows such as Black Monday, Corporate, and Life & Beth. She has also served as a producer on a couple of projects. James is also a comedian and has released a comedy album. She's got a bright future ahead of her, as she's incredibly funny and talented. Let's find out a little more about her.
9 Janelle James Was Born In The Virgin Islands
Janelle James was born in Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was raised in Saint Thomas and moved to the U.S. mainland when she was 16 years old. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York when she's not filming Abbott Elementary, which films in Los Angeles. Now that she's a public figure, she intends to keep the private aspects of her life private for as long as she can, as she told The New York Times.
8 Janelle James' Father Owned A Restaurant
In a food diary for Grub Street, James shared that her dad owned a restaurant while she was growing up. She said she used to cook with her dad and that she's been cooking since she was a kid. "I've made meatballs on an assembly line in my house, you know what I mean?" she said. Her favorite thing to make is soup because soups are relatively easy to make. In the wintertime, all she wants is soup and she ends up making tons of them during the season.
7 Janelle James Is A Mom
James has two teenage sons, but their names, ages and birth dates are unknown to the public. James has chosen to keep her family life pretty private and does not share any photos of her sons on social media. She has, however, mentioned raising teenage boys in skits and bits from her comedy career. She spoke about her youngest son in a comedy show on Netflix in 2020, when she said "It's cool having a teenager cause you get to see life slap them in the face in real-time."
6 Janelle James Loves Christmas
James told Grub Street that "I'm a Christmas b*tch. I love Christmas; I love decorations; I love a fireplace; I love food. So that's really - if I'm somewhere cold, and it's Christmastime, I'm doing soup. I sound like I'm 97 years old," she said. "I'm deep into it. Chicken soup, tortellini soup, I love tortilla soup. Italian wedding soup, minestrone, lasagna soup, anything. It's something to look forward to when it's cold." Did we mention that she loves soup?
5 Janelle James Is A Comedian
James has appeared in a few comedy specials on Netflix, including The Comedy Lineup in 2018 and The Standups in 2021. She released her first comedy album in 2017 titled Black and Mild and toured with Chris Rock on his Total Blackout tour that same year. She has also toured with comedian Amy Schumer.
4 Janelle James Is A Comedy Writer
James worked as a story editor on the animated AppleTV+ series, Central Park, during the second season. She also worked both as a staff writer and an executive story editor on the comedy series Black Monday, which aired on Showtime. She was also a writer on seven episodes of The Rundown with Robin Thede.
3 Janelle James Is An Actress
Along with her comedy career and her writing career, James has proven she is multi-talented by also working as an actress. Aside from her Emmy-nominated role on Abbott Elementary, James has also acted in shows such as Life and Beth alongside Amy Schumer, Crashing, Black Monday, Corporate, and Tuca and Bertie, along with having a recurring role on Central Park, for which she also worked as a story editor. James has also had roles in a couple of short films.
2 Janelle James Is Friends With Amy Schumer
Along with touring with Schumer on her comedy tour and appearing in her series Life & Beth, James also appeared in Schumer's documentary, Expecting Amy. The two celebs are both moms now and James said in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that before she worked as an actress, she was "just a mom."
1 Janelle James Loves Being A Bad Boss On Abbott Elementary
In an interview with The New York Times, James said that her character, Ava, on Abbott Elementary is "controlled chaos." "Basically, she is someone who's fashionable; she is an opportunist. She lives in a moment. She is funny; she's unaware; she's dedicated to Ava." James says she enjoys acting on a sitcom as opposed to doing stand-up, because "having someone else write for you is cake!" Even though she loves doing stand-up, as well, she has surprisingly found joy in sitcom acting, as well.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYsGwecqnprBlkZe8tsCMrZ%2BeZZieuaK%2ByKisrGWalrumuMueZKOZnZrAbrLRqKRmmZKXvLXAjJ6jnqWVo8Givtho