Vanessa Bayer | |
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Born |
Vanessa Polster Bayer November 14, 1981 Orange, Ohio, U.S. |
Education | University of Pennsylvania |
Occupation | |
Years active | 2009–present |
Vanessa Polster Bayer (born November 14, 1981Saturday Night Live since 2010.
) is an American actress and comedian best known as a cast member onBayer was born and raised in Orange, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to a Reform Jewish family. She is the daughter of Carolyn (née Polster) and Todd Bayer.
At the age of 15, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Bayer stated that while battling the disease, she discovered the meaning of “comic relief”. “I don’t know if it made me funnier, but it was so amazing, how it made everything be O.K.,” she said.
Bayer graduated from Orange High School in 2000 and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in communications and French, graduating in 2004.
She currently collaborates with her brother Jonah on the web series Sound Advice for Above Average. Bayer stars as Janessa Slater, a media coach who helps famous musicians change their image.
While attending college, Bayer interned on the television shows Sesame Street and Late Night with Conan O'Brien and participated in the cast of Bloomers, an all-female musical and sketch comedy troupe. Bayer was part of the all-Jewish cast of Second City's stage show Jewsical: The Musical, a musical that presented a comedic take on Jewish life and culture.
Bayer played the role of Kate Clark in the Chicago-based feature comedy Off the Cuff.
Bayer performed improvisational comedy at Chicago's ImprovOlympic, where she trained with SNL castmate Paul Brittain as well as the Annoyance Theatre and Second City.