That fall she became a featured player, the first time SNL included more than one African-American woman in its cast. In spring 2014, Jones got out of the writers' room and in front of the cameras when she first performed in a Weekend Update segment, ranting about her hilarious dating experiences. She was ultimately offered a writing position instead of a featured player role, which was instead given to comedian Sasheer Zamata. With Saturday Night Live looking to add an African-American woman to its ensemble, Jones landed an audition for the late-night comedy show in December 2013. Jones returned to stand-up with the release of her Netflix special Time Machine in early 2020. She performed at the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, the Aspen Comedy Festival, on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Laffapalooza – Urban Comedy Arts Festival, BET’s The Way We Do It and Comicview and HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. As a comedian, it’s something you learn to use." "But I don't look, like, standard Hollywood. "I know I'm fly-don’t get me wrong," she said an interview with The New Yorker. Jones also continued to make a name for herself in the comedy world, again learning to use her height as part of her act. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage via Getty Images)Įventually Jones started to appear on TV in commercials and programs like In the House, Coach, Snap Judgment, Malcolm and Eddie and Girlfriends. Leslie Jones at the premiere of ’Ghostbusters’ on Jin Hollywood. I wanted to be that one woman who would come out and everyone would love." "When I started out, I just wanted to go into a club and hold my own," Jones said of her early days. She took a day job at UPS, but continued to work on her comedy craft at clubs around Los Angeles. "'Go get a job, go get fired, go get your heart broken and go break some hearts.'" You don't have anything to talk about.'" Jones said in an interview with People magazine. She bombed again and this time the audience even booed her.įoxx’s advice was that she had to live her life. Jones didn’t let the deflating experience stop her, and she went on to open for Jamie Foxx. She returned to Los Angeles and performed at The Comedy Store, the legendary comedy club in West Hollywood, but her act bombed. Jones worked several odd jobs while in college, including as a cook, waitress, cashier, assistant to a judge, receptionist and perfume salesperson, but comedy kept calling her. I just thought I was insane." Stand-Up Struggles "I've always been crazy," Jones wrote on her website. A friend secretly entered her into a comedy contest, which she won, earning her the title, "Funniest Person on Campus." She then transferred to Colorado State University, where she discovered a knack for performing. Where am I going?'"Īfter playing basketball in high school, Jones received a basketball scholarship from Chapman University in Orange, California. When they told me I could get a scholarship to college I said, 'Cool. "I also got free shoes and could miss class. "I played basketball to please my dad," Jones wrote on her website. Jones eventually learned to use her height to her advantage, and followed her father’s advice to get involved in basketball. "I was like, 'Oh my God if I'm going to look like you then I don't care what anyone says about me.'" "People used to call me names so my mom had this beautiful African lady come talk to me," Jones told People magazine. Jones, who would grow to be 6 feet tall, was insecure about her looks. When her father took a job as an electronic engineer at KJLH, Stevie Wonder’s radio station, the family relocated to Los Angeles, and Jones attended high school in Lynwood, California. Leslie Jones was born on September 7, 1967, into a military family in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved frequently throughout her childhood. She went on to appear in films like Trainwreck, Ghostbusters and Masterminds, while also earning attention as a contributor to NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games. After several years on the comedy circuit, Jones joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2014, and soon became one of the show's most popular performers. Born in 1967 in Memphis, Tennessee, Jones attended college on a basketball scholarship before turning to stand-up comedy.
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