Jay Pharoah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jay Pharoah |
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Pharoah in 2016
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| Birth name | Jared Antonio Farrow |
| Born | October 14, 1987 Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Education | Tidewater Community College (AA, AS) Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Years active | 2010–present |
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Jay Pharoah, whose real name is Jared Antonio Farrow, was born on October 14, 1987. He is a funny American comedian and actor. Many people know him from the TV show Saturday Night Live. He was a main cast member on this popular sketch comedy show from 2010 to 2016. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine even called him one of the greatest Saturday Night Live cast members!
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jay Pharoah grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia. He started doing impressions when he was only six years old! He said his first impression was the voice of Iago, a parrot character from the Disney movie Aladdin. His dad even put him in a talent show soon after, where he got fifth place.
He finished high school at Indian River High School in Chesapeake in 2005. One of his funny characters, Principal Daniel Frye, is based on his old principal there. Jay Pharoah also went to college. He studied business at Tidewater Community College and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Comedy Career
Jay Pharoah started doing stand-up comedy when he was just 15 years old. He performed in community theaters and comedy clubs in Virginia. He even toured with other comedians like Corey Holcomb and Charlie Murphy.
He became very famous for his many amazing celebrity impressions. Some of the people he could perfectly imitate include Barack Obama, Will Smith, DMX, Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and Denzel Washington. His impression of Barack Obama became super popular online. Many people watched it on YouTube.
Time on Saturday Night Live
In 2010, Jay Pharoah joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He was a featured performer for the show's 36th season. He quickly became known as a "breakout player" for his impressions. He could imitate many famous people, including Barack Obama, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Denzel Washington.
In 2012, he took over the role of impersonating Barack Obama on SNL. Before him, Fred Armisen played Obama. Rolling Stone magazine once joked that he was the "Jimmy Fallon of 2 Chainz impressions."
Movies and Other Projects
Jay Pharoah also appeared in several movies while on SNL. In 2012, he was in the independent film Lola Versus. He had a small part in the movie Ride Along in 2014. This film starred Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. He also appeared in the sports comedy Balls Out with other SNL cast members.
In 2016, he was in a commercial for Old Navy with Nasim Pedrad and Cecily Strong. On August 8, 2016, it was announced that Jay Pharoah would be leaving Saturday Night Live. He then hosted the American Music Awards of 2016 with model Gigi Hadid. Jay Pharoah has also been working on his first music album.
Filmography
Film
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Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Lola Versus | Randy | |
| 2013 | Underdogs | Announcer 2 | |
| 2014 | Ride Along | Runflat | |
| Balls Out | Dan | ||
| Top Five | Mike | ||
| 2016 | Get a Job | Skeezy D | |
| Sing | Meena's Grandfather (voice) | ||
| 2018 | Unsane | Nate Hoffman | |
| 2019 | How to Fake a War | Harry Hope | |
| 2020 | Bad Hair | Julius | |
| 2 Minutes of Fame | Deandre | ||
| All My Life | Dave Berger | ||
| 2021 | The Mitchells vs. the Machines | Noah (voice) | |
| Resort to Love | Jason King | ||
| 2022 | The Blackening | Shawn | |
| 2023 | Spinning Gold | Cecil Holmes | |
| The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart | Nuno Blood (voice) | ||
| Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie | Jay-Z (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| 2024 | Running on Empty | Sid |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2016 | Saturday Night Live | Various | Main cast (season 36-41) |
| 2011 | The Cookout 2 | Eddie O | TV movie |
| 2014 | Portlandia | Jay-Z (voice) | Episode: "Ecoterrorists" |
| 2016–2017 | Legends of Chamberlain Heights | Montrel, Randy (voice) | Main cast |
| 2017 | BoJack Horseman | Man on the Street, Dashawn Manheim (voice) | 2 episodes |
| White Famous | Floyd Mooney | Main cast | |
| 2017–2024 | Family Guy | Skee-Lo, Kanye West, Kanye Canes, Brick Baker, Reverend Lucius, Moses Beauford (voices) | Recurring role; Also consulting producer (2022–present) |
| 2018 | SuperMansion | Various | 3 episodes |
| Champaign ILL | Lou | Recurring cast | |
| 2019–2023 | A Million Little Things | Omar Howard | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | The Masked Singer | Self | Guest judge |
| Loafy | Zookeeper Dan (voice) | Recurring cast | |
| 2020–2021 | Nickelodeon's Unfiltered | Host | TV series |
| 2021 | Robot Chicken | Barack Obama (voice) | Episode: "May Cause Your Dad to Come Back With That Gallon of Milk He Went Out for 10 Years Ago" |
| 2022 | That's My Jam | Self | Episode: "Jay Pharoah & Nikki Glaser vs. Terry Crews & Dan Finnerty" |
| A Black Lady Sketch Show | Lavonte | Episode: "Bounce Them Coochies, Y'all!" | |
| Out of Office | Neal | TV movie | |
| Bubble Guppies | Buster (voice) | Episode: "The Solar Light Spectacular!" | |
| 2022–2023 | American Dad! | Mr. Fritz / Angry Husband (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2022–2024 | The Simpsons | Drederick Tatum (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2023–present | Invincible | Bulletproof, Komodo Dragon, Various (voice) | Season 2 |
| 2024 | Good Times: Black Again | Junior (voice) | Main |
| Sausage Party: Foodtopia | Food in Crowd (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| 2024–present | The Quiz with Balls | Self | Host |
Video games
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) – Andre
See also
In Spanish: Jay Pharoah para niños
