Kay Cannon

Kay is a TV and screenwriter, producer, actress and comedienne. She made her feature film directing debut with the hit comedy “Blockers” from Universal Pictures, starring Leslie Mann, John Cena and Ike Barinholtz.  Cannon also received rave reviews for her debut screenplay, the acappella comedy "Pitch Perfect," starring Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson. She wrote and co-produced the hit follow up, "Pitch Perfect 2” and the recent “Pitch Perfect 3.”

Cannon served as the executive producer, creator and showrunner of the Netflix series “Girlboss” based on Sophia Amoruso’s best-selling autobiography, starring Britt Robertson.  

Cannon launched a production company with Laverne McKinnon called K&L Productions. Their aim is to tell underserved stories in both comedy and drama. K&L Productions recently partnered with Sony Television on a first look production deal.

Cannon got her start at such venerable comedic training grounds as The Second City, ImprovOlympic and ComedySportz Chicago. While writing and performing around Chicago, she met Tina Fey, another Second City alumna, and the two became fast friends. When Fey embarked on “30 Rock," she sought out like-minded, funny peeps to join the writing staff and turned to Cannon, who happily accepted.  She served as one of the show’s staff writers and ultimately a supervising producer. Her work on “30 Rock” earned her three Emmy nominations. She also won the Writers Guild of America award three times as well as a Peabody.

Cannon served as a co-executive producer on "New Girl" and as a consulting producer on "Cristela” and co-produced the hit feature “Baby Mama.”

On the performing side, Kay has had comedic roles in films and television including New Girl, 30 Rock, Cristela and How to be Single. Cannon married Eben Russell on January 1, 2012 and the couple welcomed their ridiculously adorable daughter, Evelyn Rose Russell "Leni" on October 9th, 2013. Kay is extremely passionate about Steps Of Faith Foundation and is proud to serve as a member on the Board of Directors.