Lennon Parham

Last updated
Lennon Parham
Lennonparham.jpg
Parham in 2009
Born
Lennon Kathleen Parham

(1975-10-26) October 26, 1975 (age 48)
Education University of Evansville (BFA)
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian, writer
Years active2001–present
Spouse
Javier Guzman
(m. 2006)
Children2

Lennon Kathleen Parham (born October 26, 1975) [1] is an American actress and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. With frequent collaborator Jessica St. Clair, she created and co-starred in NBC's Best Friends Forever and USA Network's Playing House . She also co-starred in the CBS sitcom Accidentally on Purpose from 2009 to 2010. More recently, she has appeared in the Max series Minx .

Contents

Early life

Parham was born in Marietta, Georgia. She attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Theatre from the University of Evansville. Following college, she taught French for two years at T. L. Weston High School in Greenville, Mississippi, as part of the Teach For America program. [2]

Career

After her stint as a French teacher, Parham began performing comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. During this time, she starred in the two-person show The Adventures of Lock & Kay and the one-woman show She Tried to be Normal. In the fall of 2009, Parham began a supporting role in the comedy Accidentally on Purpose .

Parham and frequent collaborator Jessica St. Clair created and starred in the NBC comedy Best Friends Forever , which ran for one season in 2012. Their second sitcom, Playing House , premiered on USA on April 29, 2014, and lasted three seasons. In 2015, Parham and St. Clair spun-off their Comedy Bang! Bang! characters Wompler and Listler for a new Earwolf podcast called WOMP It Up! , with St. Clair as host Marissa Wompler and Parham co-hosting as Marissa's teacher Charlotte Listler. Frequent guests on the podcast include Brian Huskey as Marissa's stepdad "Seth" and Jason Mantzoukas as Marissa's former flame Eric "Gutterballs" Gutterman.

Parham has made appearances on television programs such as Veep , Parks and Recreation , Comedy Bang! Bang!, Bad Judge , Arrested Development , Lady Dynamite , Review , and Mad Men . In 2019 and 2020, she was a main cast member of the ABC sitcom, Bless This Mess , starring Lake Bell and Dax Shepard. Her notable work in film includes Confessions of a Shopaholic , Splinterheads , and Horrible Bosses 2 .

Parham was a guest on The Big Alakens Big Lake marathon fundraiser episode of The George Lucas Talk Show .

Personal life

Parham is married to Javier Guzman. Their daughter Saraya was born on April 21, 2013. [3] Their second child was born in October 2016. [4]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 Pretty Bird Woman at Gas Station
2008TransferantsThe girlShort film
2009StrangersWoman
2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic Joyce
2009Hysterical PsychoDeaf Mute Sister
2009 Splinterheads Wyoming
2011Volcano GirlJob CounselorShort film
2014 Horrible Bosses 2 Roz
2016 Other People Vicki
2017 The House Martha
2019 Bombshell Beth's Employee
2020 For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close Arabella
TBA Holland, Michigan Post-production
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007UCB Comedy OriginalsHerselfTV series
2009 Boldly Going Nowhere JoyceTV movie
2009 Parks and Recreation Kate SpeevackEpisode: "Canvassing"
2009Attack CardioVideo short
2009–2010 Accidentally on Purpose Abby Chase18 episodes
2010 Big Lake JanetEpisode: "Chris Moves In"
2011 How I Met Your Mother BevEpisode: "Desperation Day"
2011 Funny or Die Presents Jablonsky4 episodes
2011 Childrens Hospital PharmacistEpisode: "Stryker Bites the Dust"
2012 Best Friends Forever Lennon WhiteLead role (6 episodes); also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2012 NTSF:SD:SUV:: StephanieEpisode: "The NTSF: SD: SUV: HISS Infomercial"
2013 Mad Men Ginny HuntEpisode: "The Flood"
2013 Arrested Development Therapist SandyEpisode: "Off The Hook"
2014 In Bed with Joan HerselfEpisode: "Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair"
2014–2017 Playing House Maggie CarusoLead role (26 episodes); also co-creator, writer, director, executive producer
2014 The Birthday Boys DoctorEpisode: "Women Are Funny"
2014 Comedy Bang! Bang! GabbyEpisode: "Chris Hardwick Wears a Black Polo & Weathered Boots"
2014 Bad Judge Regina BullockEpisode: "Face Mask Mom"
2015–2019 Veep Karen Collins7 episodes
2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! DJ ForsythiaEpisode: "Skylar Astin Wears Blue Jeans and Weathered Brown Desert Boots"
2015 Review Mrs. Greenfield2 episodes
2015 EastSiders Carmella FredrickEpisode: "Open Bar"
2016 New Girl CarolEpisode: "Bob & Carol & Nick & Schmidt"
2016–2017 Animals Ashley / Charly (voice)2 episodes
2016–2017 Lady Dynamite Larissa12 episodes
2016 Documentary Now! RamonaEpisode: "Parker Gail's Location Is Everything"
2016 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Carla SutcliffeEpisode: "Amir vs Dean"
2016–2017 Adventure Time Dr. Gross (voice)3 episodes
2017–2023 Bob's Burgers Janine / Marsha / Bea (voice)4 episodes
2017 Ghosted DeidreEpisode: "Ghost Studz"
2018 Speechless SarahEpisode: "The H-u-s-Hustle"
2018 Little Big Awesome Various voices4 episodes
2018 Teachers C.F. BlinkyEpisode: "The Book Challenge"
2018 A Million Little Things GailEpisode: "The Game of Your Life"
2019 I'm Sorry Beth4 episodes
2019–2020 Schooled Liz Flemming12 episodes
2019 American Dad! Crony Girl (voice)Episode: "Top of the Steve"
2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Apothecarry Sherry (voice)Episode: "Yada Yada Berries/Down by the River"
2019–2020 Bless This Mess Kay Bowman26 episodes; also director
2020 Curb Your Enthusiasm RandiEpisode: "Happy New Year"
2020 Robbie Rooney SwittEpisode: "Robbie vs. Rooney"
2020 Close Enough Toluca Lake (voice)Episode: "Robot Tutor/Golden Gamer"
2020 The George Lucas Talk Show HerselfEpisode: "The Big Alakens Marathon"
2021 M.O.D.O.K. Doris / Mrs. Horgan (voice)2 episodes
2021–2022 Tuca & Bertie Various voices2 episodes
2021 Star Trek: Lower Decks Shari Yn Yem (voice)Episode: "I, Excretus"
2022 Big City Greens Janice (voice)Episode: "Papaganda"
2022 The Great North Marie (voice)Episode: "Beef Mommas House Adventure"
2022–present Minx ShellyMain cast
2022 Better Things Paige2 episodes
2022 Little Demon Darlene (voice)8 episodes
2023 History of the World, Part II GretaEpisode: "VIII"
2023 Digman! Lillian (voice)Episode: "The Mile High Club"
2023 Royal Crackers Various voices3 episodes
2023 Somebody Somewhere Director; 2 episodes
2023 The Ghost and Molly McGee Miss Fiamma (voice)Episode: "Welcome to Necrocomic-con/Fit to Print"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre</span> Improvisational comedy venue

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Huebel</span> American actor, comedian and writer

Robert Anderson Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant and for his role of Dr. Owen Maestro on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. He also appeared as Russell on the FX/FXX series The League and as Len Novak on the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent. In December 2022, Entertainment Weekly called Huebel "the premier d-bag character actor of his generation".

Danielle Caroline Schneider is an American actress, writer, and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She co-created and starred in the Hulu reality TV parody series The Hotwives and currently co-hosts the podcast Bitch Sesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Daly</span> American actor, comedian and writer

Andy Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series Review, and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down as Terrence Cutler. He has also made recurring appearances on television programs such as Silicon Valley, Veep, Modern Family, Black-ish, Trial & Error, the Netflix series The Who Was? Show, Reno 911!, and Comedy Bang! Bang!, as well as animated shows such as Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Bob's Burgers, Adventure Time, and Harley Quinn.

Jamie Denbo is an American actress, writer, comedian and half of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jessica Chaffin. She also co-starred in the FX series Terriers and appeared in Spy, The Heat and Ghostbusters (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Wilson</span> American actress and comedian

Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, and podcaster. Originally known for her performances with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe in New York, Wilson's first major television appearances came during her two-season stint as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2008 to 2009. Following SNL, she starred as Penny Hartz in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings for which she was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and has since starred in comedies such as Showtime's Black Monday, Apple TV's The Shrink Next Door, Hulu's The Hotwives and Marry Me on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Diane Raphael</span> American actress, comedienne, and screenwriter (born 1980)

June Diane Raphael is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs Burning Love, Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV::, and Grace and Frankie. Notable film work includes supporting roles in Year One and Unfinished Business, as well as her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner Casey Wilson. She currently co-hosts both How Did This Get Made? alongside Jason Mantzoukas and her husband Paul Scheer, and The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair.

Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, Marie Faldonado in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan and appearing in the films Spy and The Heat. She starred as Beth in the NBC sitcom Abby's.

John Gemberling is an American actor and comedian best known for roles as Bevers on the Comedy Central series Broad City, as Gil on the NBC sitcom Marry Me, and as John Hancock on the Fox sitcom Making History. He also portrayed Steve Bannon on Comedy Central's political satire late night series The President Show, and Griff in the second season of Mixed-ish.

Jessica St. Clair is an American actress and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. With frequent collaborator Lennon Parham, she co-created and co-starred in NBC's Best Friends Forever and USA Network's Playing House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Gelman</span> American actor and comedian (born 1976)

Brett Clifford Gelman is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series Stranger Things and as Martin in the BBC comedy Fleabag.

<i>Best Friends Forever</i> (American TV series) American sitcom television series

Best Friends Forever is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from April 4, to June 1, 2012. The series aired during the 2011–12 NBC primetime season as a mid-season replacement and was created by real-life best friends Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair. The pilot episode was made available early through Hulu and NBC.com on March 21, 2012. NBC officially canceled the series on May 11, 2012, after only 4 episodes were broadcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Mantzoukas</span> American actor and comedian

Jason Mantzoukas is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League, and as one of the three co-hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.

Luka Yovetich, known professionally as Luka Jones, is an American actor and comedian, best known for co-starring in the NBC sitcoms Best Friends Forever and Up All Night.

Betsy Sodaro is an American actress. She is a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. Sodaro is best known for her appearances on comedy programs such as Another Period, Duncanville, Clipped, Animal Practice, Nailed It, Big Time in Hollywood, FL and the Netflix show Disjointed.

<i>Playing House</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Playing House is an American sitcom that premiered on April 29, 2014, on the USA Network. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair created and star in the series, which is inspired by their real-life friendship.

<i>Womp It Up!</i> Comedy podcast

Womp It Up! is a comedy podcast hosted by Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, in character as high school student Marissa Wompler and her Stars program teacher Charlotte Listler. The podcast premiered on the Earwolf network in April 2015; its last podcast was on May 7, 2021.

Jessica McKenna is an American actress, comedian and singer. McKenna trained with The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where she regularly performs. McKenna was one of the stars of Fox's Party Over Here, alongside Nicole Byer and Alison Rich, and hosted the podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical until 2023.

Neil Campbell is a producer, comedian, actor, and writer, who served as artistic director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, CA from 2008 to 2012. Campbell has worked as a producer and writer on shows including Comedy Bang! Bang! and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Carl Tart is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Tart is known for being a featured player on the 2016 Fox sketch show Party Over Here, a writer on Mad TV, and a regular guest on the podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! He starred on the NBC sitcom Grand Crew.

References

  1. "History for Oct. 26".
  2. "UCB Theater • Lennon Parham". Upright Citizens Brigade. Archived from the original on 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. "Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham Bond Over Baby Girls". People. May 31, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  4. lennonparham (November 28, 2016). "Jamming in my car with my 6 week old and a little "Celebrate Me Home". Thanks @kennyloggins & @kost1035fm #babys1stKenny". No. 803337008714104832.