Paula Pell

Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American writer, actress, comedian, and producer. Pell is best known for her work as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2020. For her work on SNL and 30 Rock, she has been recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program and six Writers Guild of America Awards. In 2019, Pell was honored with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence. Pell has produced, written, and performed in numerous TV series, including 30 Rock, A.P. Bio, Love, and Mapleworth Murders, and has worked as a writer for awards ceremonies like the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the MTV Video Music Awards. As a voiceover artist, she has voiced characters in Inside Out, Big Mouth, and Bless the Harts. Pell has also appeared in several films and TV series, including Sisters, Other People, and Wine Country. Since 2021, Pell has been a main cast member on the Peacock original series Girls5eva. Biography Born in Joliet, Illinois, Pell wanted to be an actor from an early age. She studied acting and visual art at Orlando's Seminole Community College and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She took a job at Walt Disney World, working in the nightclubs of the resort's adults-only Pleasure Island section. Pell was a writer for Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2013. She is credited with creating some of its memorable characters, such as Debbie Downer, the Culps, Justin Timberlake's Omeletteville mascot, and the Spartan Cheerleaders, among others. She also was a producer and writer for the sitcom 30 Rock, and is credited with writing the episodes "Argus" and "Floyd". In 2006, a pilot she wrote, Thick and Thin, was picked up by NBC for 13 episodes, with Pell as executive producer, but it never aired in the United States. Pell has worked with Judd Apatow providing additional writing for the films Bridesmaids and This is 40.