Jay Pharoah

Jay Pharoah

Chicago Improv

Thu Mar 20
07:00PM
Special Event
Fri Mar 21
07:00PM
Special Event
09:30PM
Special Event
Sat Mar 22
07:00PM
Special Event
09:30PM
Special Event

Jay Pharoah's Bio

Actor and comedian Jay Pharoah is one of the industry's most highly-anticipated leading men.

Pharoah most recently starred in the biopic SPINNING GOLD as Cecil Homes, the right hand man of 1970s record producer Neil Bogart who co-founded Casablanca Records. Together they were behind the success of stars like Donna Summer, Kiss and The Village People. He also starred in the Toronto International Film Festival triumph, THE BLACKENING as Shawn. The film performed so well it was sold out of the festival to Lionsgate and will be released this upcoming Juneteenth weekend.

In the last few years, Pharoah has appeared in Comedy Central’s OUT OF OFFICE alongside Ken Jeong and Oscar Nuñez and in the independent comedy MORT IN SHERMAN OAKS with Lucy Hale and Jim Gaffigan. He starred in Netflix’s RESORT TO LOVE with Cristina Milian for producer Alicia Keys and in the Lionsgate thriller PRIVATE PROPERTY. Pharoah also co-starred opposite Harry Shum Jr. in Universal’s ALL MY LIFE, in Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed feature film BAD HAIR for Hulu, and in Lionsgate’s 2 MINUTES OF FAME for director Leslie Small. 

On the small screen, Pharoah starred as “J.J. Evans” in ABC’s Emmy Award-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience version of ALL IN THE FAMILY and GOOD TIMES. He currently hosts and produces the Nickelodeon hit gameshow UNFILTERED. 

Best known for his his spot-on impressions, Pharoah spent six seasons as a cast member on NBC’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. In 2017, he shifted to his first leading role as ‘Floyd Mooney’ in Showtime’s WHITE FAMOUS, which was executive produced by Academy Award-winner Jaime Foxx and inspired by Foxx’s real-life experiences. 

Additional film and television credits include Sony Picture’s animated feature, THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, Steven Soderbergh’s UNSANE, Universal’s animated feature SING, CBS Films’ GET A JOB, CBS’s All Access’s REMOTE, FOX Searchlight’s LOLA VERSUS, FOX’s FAMILY GUY, FOX’s THE SIMPSONS, Netflix’s BOJACK HORSEMAN, and Cartoon Network’s ROBOT CHICKEN.

In addition to acting and his stand-up, Jay released his first EP titled “Spittin Image” in August 2021. The tracks are a marriage between Jay’s spot-on impressions and his love of songwriting and rapping.  All songs are written by Jay and produced by Andrew Hypes. 

Pharoah continues to headline comedy clubs across the country throughout the year.