Vanessa Bayer
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1981-11-14
    • Born Place: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Vanessa Bayer

Vanessa Polster Bayer (born November 14, 1981 in Orange, Ohio) is an Emmy‑nominated American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and children’s author. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (BA in Communications & French, 2004), she honed her comedy craft through improv at Chicago’s iO, Annoyance Theatre, and The Second City before joining Saturday Night Live as a featured player in 2010, and becoming repertory cast in 2012. During her seven-year SNL tenure, Bayer created memorable characters like "Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy" and Dawn Lazarus, and delivered standout celebrity impressions (Miley Cyrus, Hillary Clinton, Jennifer Aniston), earning a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2017. A childhood survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (diagnosed at age 15), Bayer channeled that experience into her creative work and advocacy—co‑creating, co‑executive producing, and starring in Showtime’s 2022 comedy I Love That for You, inspired by her own cancer journey. She’s appeared in films including Trainwreck (2015), Office Christmas Party (2016), Carrie Pilby (2016), Ibiza (2018), Wander Darkly (2020), voiced in Despicable Me 2, and acted in TV series like Single Parents, Will & Grace, and What We Do in the Shadows. Off‑screen, she authored the children’s book How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? (2019) and remains active with the Make‑A‑Wish Foundation—stemming from her own wish to send her family on vacation during treatment. Bayer also hosts the podcast How Did We Get Weird? with her brother, Jonah.

Person History