Danielle Pinnock (born May 11, 1988) is an American actress, writer, and comedian. Pinnock won an Astra Television Award and an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for her performance as a main cast member on the CBS comedy ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (2021– ), where she plays the 1920s

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

jazz singer Alberta. She played a supporting role as Ms. Ingram on the CBS comedy Y''oung Sheldon'' (2017–2020) and has acted in ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different ti ...

'', ''

Workaholics ''Workaholics'' is an American adult television sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' initially aired on Comedy Central from ...

'', ''

A Black Lady Sketch Show ''A Black Lady Sketch Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Robin Thede for HBO. The show consists of comedy sketches performed by a main cast of Black women, consisting of producer and creator Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, ...

'', and others.

Early life and education

Pinnock was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts to Jamaican immigrant parents, and from age 10 was raised in

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held every September. As of the 2020 United States cen ...

, New Jersey. At the

51st Daytime Emmy Awards The 51st Daytime Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, honored the best in U.S. daytime television programming in 2023. The award ceremony was held on June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los ...

Pinnock said her middle name was Ashley and that she was named for

Ashley Abbott Ashley Abbott is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', two American soap operas on the CBS network. She has been most notably portrayed by Eileen Davidson, who originated the role on June 11 ...

of ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. Beginning in fifth grade, she performed in local theater productions at school and at the Garage Theater Group. In high school at

Saddle River Day School Saddle River Day School is a coeducational, college-preparatory independent day school, located in Saddle River, in Bergen County, New Jersey, serving students in Pre-K3 through twelfth grade. Its student body is drawn from communities in Berg ...

, she was active in performing arts activities. Her father died when she was 16. She received her bachelor's degree in theater and communications from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, and there met fellow student

Quinta Brunson Quinta Brunson (; born December 21, 1989) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for creating, executive producing, and co-writing the ABC comedy series '' Abbott Elementary'' (2021–present), in which she s ...

. She received her graduate degree in acting from the

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and docto ...

. She interviewed approximately 300 people for her one-woman dissertation show ''Body/Courage'', which centers body image and

diet culture Diet culture refers to a common set of trends and norms that may specifically affect those undertaking dieting or monitoring their caloric or nutritional intake. It often describes a set of societal beliefs pertaining to food and body image, prim ...

, and went on to perform the show over a five-year period. Pinnock later received a fellowship to train in improv and sketch comedy at Second City in Chicago.

Career

Pinnock moved to Los Angeles in 2016 and was cast as an understudy for the

Robert O'Hara Robert O'Hara (born 1970) is an American playwright and director. He has written ''Insurrection: Holding History'' and ''Bootycandy''. ''Insurrection'' is a time traveling play exploring racial and sexual identity. ''Bootycandy'' is a series o ...

play ''Barbecue'', staged at

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...

and directed by

Colman Domingo Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, playwright, and director. Prominent Colman Domingo on screen and stage, on both screen and stage since the 2010s, Domingo has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

. Shortly after, she was cast in her first television role on NBC's ''

''. She has also appeared on the series ''

Get Shorty ''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into an eponymous film, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. Plot summary The story is about Ernesto "Chili ...

'', ''

'' and done voice acting for the programs '' The Boss Baby: Back in Business'', '' Where’s Waldo?'', and ''

ThunderCats Roar ''ThunderCats Roar'' is an American animated television series developed by Victor Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser for Cartoon Network. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it premiered on February 22, 2020. It is the third television series i ...

''. From 2017, for seasons 1–4, Pinnock was a supporting character on ''

Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro which aired on CBS from September 25, 2017, to May 16, 2024. The series is a Spin-off (media), spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' that ...

''. In 2018, she created the

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

series ''Hashtag Booked'' to comment on the barriers encountered by Black women in the entertainment industry. She and co-creator LaNisa Renée Frederick received a

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for the series. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Pinnock gained wider prominence for her comedic videos posted to her

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. She was named to ''

Backstage Backstage may refer to: * Backstage (theatre), the areas of a theatre that are not part of the house or stage Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1917 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1919 film), a silent film starri ...

'''s list of 25 On-the-Rise Performers You Need to Know in 2022. Pinnock gained wider prominence as a main cast member on the 2021

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

comedy ''

'', on which she plays Alberta, a 1920s era jazz singer. Although she has no formal vocal training, she started to take lessons after she was cast. ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'' hailed her acting as one of 10 breakout performances of 2021. She won in 2024 Astra Award and a 2025 NAACP Image Award, as well a Black Reel Award nomination for her performance. ''Unmentionables'', an adult animated series she co-created with Punam Patel is in development with

20th Century The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the 2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of ...

. The series is produced by

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, ''Time'' named Henson one of ...

and

Anthony Hemingway Anthony Maurice Hemingway (born 1977) is an American television and film director. He has worked extensively in television, directing numerous episodes of '' CSI: NY'', '' Treme'', ''True Blood'' and '' Shameless'', among others. He has also dire ...

. Pinnock hosted the 37th

Artios Awards The Casting Society, formerly known as the Casting Society of America (CSA), is a professional association of about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors for film, television, theatre, and commercials in Canada, Europe, Austral ...

Personal life

Pinnock resides in Los Angeles. In 2013 she married British

dialect coach A dialect coach is a technical advisor who supports actors as they craft voice and speech patterns for characters in the context of productions be it in an on-camera setting (film, television and commercial), stage setting ("straight plays" as well ...

Jack Wallace, whom she met while in her graduate program at

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Official Instagram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinnock, Danielle 1988 births Living people 21st-century American actresses American women comedians American women screenwriters American people of Jamaican descent Temple University alumni Comedians from Bergen County, New Jersey Actresses from Teaneck, New Jersey African-American female comedians African-American comedians Alumni of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Actresses from Boston Comedians from Boston Saddle River Day School alumni