Kay Cannon
| Kay Cannon | |
|---|---|
 Cannon in September 2009 | |
| Born | United States |
| Alma mater | Lewis University |
| Occupation | Writer, actress |
| Spouse(s) |
Jason Sudeikis (m. 2004; div. 2010) Eben Russell (m. 2012); 1 child |
Kay Cannon is an American film and television writer and actress who is best known for her work as an Emmy-nominated writer and producer for the NBC series 30 Rock,[1][2] and writing the screenplay for the Pitch Perfect films. She is also a co-executive producer and writer on New Girl.[3]
Early life
Kay Cannon, the fifth of seven siblings,[4] was raised in Custer Park, Illinois[5] and graduated from Reed-Custer High School. She received her BA in Theatre and MA in Education at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.[6]
Career
Kay got her start at the comedic training grounds The Second City, ImprovOlympic and ComedySportz Chicago. While writing and performing around Chicago, she met Tina Fey, a fellow Second City alumna. When Fey began creating the NBC comedy 30 Rock, she sought out people to join the writing staff and turned to Cannon. While at 30 Rock Kay worked her way up from staff writer to supervising producer.
She has won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedic Series for her work on 30 Rock three times, and also won a 2008 Peabody Award for her work on the show.[7] In 2010, Cannon was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. During this time, Cannon also worked as a co-producer on the hit feature film, Baby Mama.
She moved from New York City to LA when she signed an overall development deal with 20th Century Fox. Within that deal, she worked as a co-executive producer on New Girl and currently works as a consulting producer on Cristela. As part of her development, Cannon sold a workplace comedy The Wrecking Crew to FOX and wrote the pilot The Runt for CBS.
Cannon received rave reviews for her debut screenplay, the a cappella comedy Pitch Perfect, starring Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson. In 2015, she wrote and co-produced the film's sequel, Pitch Perfect 2. On the performing side, Kay starred and received glowing reviews in the independent film The Little Tin Man and has guest starred on 30 Rock, New Girl, and Cristela.
Cannon has performed sketch and improv for theatres like Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, The Second City in Chicago and Las Vegas, IO (West and Chicago) and at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles and New York. One of her first jobs was as a performer at ComedySportz (Chicago). When not writing, Cannon currently performs at the UCB Theater in the popular improv show, "Brand New Ball".
Personal life
She married Saturday Night Live cast member and former 30 Rock guest star Jason Sudeikis in 2004. They divorced in 2010.[8]
Cannon married Eben Russell on January 1, 2012 and the couple have one child together.[9]
Filmography
- Pitch Perfect (2012) — writer
- Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) — writer, producer, and cameo
- Let It Snow (2016) — writer
References
- ↑ "A Few Minutes with 30 Rock's Kay Cannon". Ucbcomedy.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
- ↑ The Swimmer. YouTube.
- ↑ "Writer Kay Cannon Talks PITCH PERFECT, Girl Power, Picking Out the Songs, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, and Her FOX Show". ollider.com. 2012-09-29.
- ↑ Radish, Christina (October 1, 2012). "Writer Kay Cannon Talks PITCH PERFECT, Girl Power, Picking Out the Songs, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, and Her FOX Show". Collider. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ↑ Thomas, Mike (April 3, 2013). "‘Pitch Perfect’ writer returns to Chicago to hone her improv chops". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ↑ Mason, Rachael. "Inside the Writer's Room: Behind the Scenes at 30 Rock with Writer/Producer Kay Cannon". Splitsider.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
- ↑ "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ↑ "Exclusive: Olivia Wilde Is Dating Jason Sudeikis!". Us Weekly. December 7, 2011.
- ↑ Webber, Stephanie (October 13, 2013). "Kay Cannon, Pitch Perfect and New Girl Writer, Welcomes Baby". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2014.