Kay Cannon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kay Cannon
Cannon in 2018
Born	(1974-08-21) August 21, 1974 (age 50) Illinois, U.S.
Education	Reed-Custer High School
Alma mater	Lewis University (B.A., M.A.)
Occupation	Screenwriter producer director actress
Years active	2007–present
Spouse(s)	Jason Sudeikis ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2010)​ Eben Russell ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	1

Kay Cannon (born August 21, 1974) is an American writer, producer, director, and actress. She is famous for writing and producing the Pitch Perfect movies. These popular films were released between 2012 and 2017. Kay Cannon also directed the comedy film Blockers, which came out in 2018.

She worked as a writer and producer for the TV shows 30 Rock (from 2007 to 2012) and New Girl (from 2012 to 2014). In 2017, she created, wrote, and produced the Netflix series Girlboss.

Early Life and Education

Kay Cannon grew up in Custer Park, Illinois. She was the fifth of seven children in her family. She went to Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood, Illinois. After high school, she studied at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree in Theatre and a master's degree in Education from the university.

Career Highlights

Kay Cannon has had a busy career in both acting and behind-the-scenes roles. She is known for her creative work in comedy.

Acting Roles

Kay Cannon trained at famous improv and sketch comedy schools. These included The Second City, ImprovOlympic, and ComedySportz. One of her first jobs was performing at ComedySportz.

She has performed comedy shows in many places.

• She performed with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• She also performed at The Second City in Chicago and Las Vegas.
• She appeared at ImprovOlympic in both West and Chicago locations.
• She performed at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles and New York City.

In 2013, Cannon starred in an independent film called The Little Tin Man. She also made guest appearances on several TV shows. These include NBC's 30 Rock, New Girl, and Cristela. She had a small role in Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015. She also appeared in the 2016 comedy movie How to Be Single. In that film, she acted alongside Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson.

Writing and Producing

While performing and writing in Chicago, Kay Cannon met actress Tina Fey. Tina Fey also came from The Second City comedy group. When Tina Fey started creating the NBC comedy show 30 Rock, she invited Cannon to join the writing team. Cannon started as a staff writer and later became a supervising producer for the show.

Her work on 30 Rock earned her several awards. She won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedic Series three times. In 2008, she received a Peabody Award for her contributions to the show. In 2010, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her writing on a comedy series. During this time, Cannon also worked as a co-producer for the movie Baby Mama (2008).

Later, she moved to Los Angeles and signed a deal with 20th Century Fox. As part of this deal, she worked as a co-executive producer on New Girl. She was also a consulting producer on Cristela. She sold a comedy show idea called The Wrecking Crew to Fox. She also wrote a pilot episode for a show called The Runt for CBS.

She then created and produced the show Girlboss for Netflix. This show was based on the real-life story of Sophia Amoruso.

Kay Cannon's first movie screenplay was for the musical comedy Pitch Perfect in 2012. This film was about a cappella singing groups. She also wrote and co-produced the sequels, Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) and Pitch Perfect 3 (2017).

Directing Films

Kay Cannon made her debut as a director with the movie Blockers. Universal Pictures released this film on April 6, 2018.

In 2019, it was announced that Cannon would write and direct a new musical version of Cinderella. This movie was for Sony Pictures and starred Camila Cabello. James Corden and his company, Fullwell 73, produced the film. Cinderella was released in 2021.

Personal Life

In 2004, Kay Cannon married actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis. They had been together for five years before marrying. They separated in 2008 and later divorced in 2010.

Cannon married comedy writer Eben Russell in 2012. They have one daughter, who was born in October 2013.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows