Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
musical comedy-drama series ''
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (2015–2019), for which she received numerous accolades, including a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, a
TCA Award, a
Critics' Choice Television Award, and a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
.
Bloom first became known for her
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
comedy music videos, including the
Hugo Award-nominated video "
Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury
''Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury'' is a 2010 Internet music video that was nominated for a 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. The video features singer and comedian Rachel Bloom performing a sexually explicit song about her lus ...
". She has also appeared in films, including ''
Most Likely to Murder'' (2018), ''
The Angry Birds Movie 2'' (2019), ''
Trolls World Tour'' (2020), ''
Bar Fight!'' (2022), and ''
The School for Good and Evil (2022)
Early life
Bloom was born on April 3, 1987,
in
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...
,
and grew up in
Manhattan Beach.
She is the only child of Shelli (née Rosenberg), a musician, and Alan Bloom, a healthcare lawyer.
She is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
Bloom attended Manhattan Beach public schools including
Mira Costa High School, where she was involved in the school's drama program. According to Bloom, she used performance as a way to try to fit in. In 2009, Bloom graduated from the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
's
Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
with a
BFA in Drama. While at NYU, Bloom was the head writer and director of the school's premier sketch comedy group, Hammerkatz. Post-college, Bloom performed at
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles.
[ She was once roommates with comedian Ilana Glazer after college in ]Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
.
Career
In April 2010, Bloom wrote and sang the song "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury", which gained a cult following when it was released on Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...
's 90th birthday in 2010. The song was inspired by her favorite Ray Bradbury book, '' The Martian Chronicles''. There was a photo of Bradbury posted online that purported to show him watching the video. She worked as an intern for head writer Seth Meyers at ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
''. In 2012, she unsuccessfully auditioned for the show, submitting an audition video that included a bit as Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
doing the voice for Bugs Bunny in ''Space Jam
''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Hersch ...
''.
On May 13, 2013, Bloom released her first album of musical comedy, ''Please Love Me'', which included the viral songs "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" and "You Can Touch My Boobies". On November 19, 2013, she released her second album ''Suck It, Christmas'', which featured a comedic look at Chanukah and included the song "Chanukah Honey". On December 17, 2013, Bloom was the voice of Princess Peach in the song "Luigi's Ballad" on Starbomb's self-titled debut album. Bloom co-wrote "Super Friend" performed by Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin
Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series '' The Flash'' as part of the Arrowverse, and as Sebastian Smythe on the Fox series ''Gle ...
, featured on the musical crossover episode of ''Supergirl'' and ''The Flash'' titled " Duet" and the soundtrack released from the episode.
On April 25, 2016, Bloom was awarded the "Visionary Award" at the annual gala held by East West Players, the longest-running professional theatre of color in the United States. The award seeks to honor "individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft”; her show '' Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' was lauded for its decision to cast an Asian-American male in a trope and stereotype-subverting lead role.
Bloom has worked as a television writer on '' Allen Gregory'' and '' Robot Chicken''.
In April 2017, Bloom appeared on "The Sexual Spectrum" episode of '' Bill Nye Saves the World'', performing the song "My Sex Junk" concerning the gender and sexual spectra. The performance and episode were controversial, garnering a mixed response with backlash from conservative groups and on social media, where Bloom was threatened. The episode received an Emmy nomination.
Bloom co-starred in the film '' Most Likely to Murder'', opposite Adam Pally and Vincent Kartheiser. The film was directed by Dan Gregor, Bloom's husband. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2018, and was released on Digital and on Demand in May 2018.
On October 10, 2019, she was featured in a 30-minute YouTube documentary called ''Laughing Matters'', created by SoulPancake in collaboration with Funny or Die, wherein a variety of comedians discuss mental health. She also appeared in the show '' My Little Pony'', on the episode "Sounds of Silence", playing a kirin named Autumn Blaze.
On November 18, 2020, Bloom was awarded the Lifesaver Award from ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel, a nonprofit aiding youth in distress in Israel, at its Hats off to Heroes virtual gala.
''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend''
On May 7, 2015, Bloom filmed a half-hour pilot for Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...
with co-executive producer Aline Brosh McKenna ('' The Devil Wears Prada''), directed by Marc Webb. It was eventually picked up by The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
for the fall 2015–2016 season. ''Crazy-Ex Girlfriend'' became a critically acclaimed hour-long series with more network-friendly content when it transitioned from cable to network TV and features musical numbers. The show premiered on October 12, 2015.
On January 10, 2016, Bloom won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy. The following week, Bloom won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. On September 23, 2019, Bloom won the 71st Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, awarded to both the composer and lyricist.
The award has gone by several names:
* Outstanding Achievement in Music, Lyrics and Special ...
for her work on ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.''
"Holy Shit (You've Got to Vote)"
"Holy Shit (You've Got to Vote)" is a 2016 video created by Rachel Bloom to encourage people to vote in the 2016 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2016.
Africa
Benin Republic
*2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016
Cape Verde
* 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016
Chad
* 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...
. The star-filled cast sang profanity laced lyrics directed at Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
such as "Donald Trump is human syphilis/we could be the antidote". The video caught the attention of many news outlets, though some questioned its effectiveness retrospectively.
Personal life
In 2015, Bloom married her boyfriend of six years, writer, actor, producer and director Dan Gregor. Her cousin, a rabbi, performed the ceremony. They have a daughter, born in 2020.
Bloom has a history of mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
, having been diagnosed with depression, anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil
Turmoil may refer to:
* ''Turmoil'' (1984 video game), a 1984 video game released by Bug-Byte
* ''Turmoil'' (2016 video game), a 2016 indie oil tycoon video ...
, and OCD, about which she has candidly spoken. Bloom's character in ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' has borderline personality disorder, and the show addresses these issues.
Filmography
Film
Television
Bibliography
Books
In November 2020, it was announced that Bloom would be releasing a memoir, titled ''I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are'', published by Grand Central Publishing. The book was released on November 17, 2020. It explores Bloom's own mental health struggles and experiences with bullying, both as a child and as an adult in the entertainment industry, along with her experiences in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Discography
Studio albums
Soundtrack albums
Singles
Other appearances
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Rachel
1987 births
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American writers
Actresses from Los Angeles
American comedy musicians
American television actresses
American television writers
American voice actresses
American women screenwriters
American women television writers
Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
Jewish American actresses
Jewish American songwriters
Jewish American female comedians
Jewish women singers
Living people
People from Manhattan Beach, California
People with obsessive–compulsive disorder
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screenwriters from California
Songwriters from California
Television producers from California
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
American women television producers
Writers from Los Angeles