Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2017, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. She co-created, co-executive produced, and starred in the Showtime comedy I Love That for You, loosely based on her experience as a survivor of childhood leukemia. She has appeared in such films as Trainwreck (2015), Office Christmas Party (2016), Carrie Pilby (2016), Ibiza (2018), and Wander Darkly (2020).
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Early life and education
Bayer was born on November 14, 1981, in Orange, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and raised in nearby Moreland Hills. She is the daughter of Carolyn and Todd Bayer. Bayer's family is Jewish, and she has stated that her Jewish upbringing "influenced her life and comedy". She has an older brother, Jonah, who is a music journalist and the guitarist of the punk supergroup United Nations.
At age 15, Bayer was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She stated that while battling the disease, she discovered the meaning of comic relief. "I don't know if it made me funnier, but it was so amazing, how it made everything be O.K.", she said.
