Robby Hoffman is an American-Canadian writer, comedian, actor, and talk show host. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, she began her career as a writer and is known for her work on ''

The Chris Gethard Show ''The Chris Gethard Show'' is a phone-in comedy and variety talk show created and hosted by Chris Gethard. Initially a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, the show debuted on public-access channel Manhattan Neighborho ...

'', ''Baroness Von Sketch Show'', ''

Workin' Moms ''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television comedy-drama sitcom series that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno Rinaldi Odd Squad ''Odd Squad'' (stylized as ''ODD SQUAD'') is a children's live action educational comedy television series created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman. The series premiered on TVOKids in Canada and PBS Kids in the United States on November 26, 2014 ...

'', the latter of which won a

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Writing for a Children’s, Preschool Children’s, Family Viewing in 2019. Hoffman released her first stand-up special, ''I'm Nervous'', in 2019. She was named one of

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''Up Next'' comedians in 2018, appeared on Conan O'Brien's ''Comics to Watch'' list, as well as on

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

's ''The Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2020''.

Early life and education

Hoffman was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, the seventh of ten siblings in a

Hasidic Jewish Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

family. Hoffman jokingly described her parents, who initially practiced

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

and later began to practice Hasidic Judaism: "They're two people who joined a Hasidic cult and had ten kids, and I'm the product of it." Her mother later became a Messianic Jew. During her early childhood, Hoffman's parents divorced; she and her siblings were subsequently raised by their single mother in her native

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. Hoffman has said her mother struggled financially to support their family, and that she lived in poverty. After attending private high school Bialik Secondary School, Hoffman enrolled at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, where she studied accounting and communications; after graduation, she enrolled in the graduate CPA program at McGill, only to quit a few hours into her first day of the program to pursue a career in comedy.

Career

Hoffman began her writing career and was soon garnering recognition for her work, while also writing and performing stand-up comedy. In 2018 she was a headlining act for the New York Comedy Festival. In 2019, she recorded her first one-hour comedy special ''I'm Nervous'' at the ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival in Toronto for Crave TV. Hoffman's first television writing job was for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series ''

Odd Squad ''Odd Squad'' (stylized as ''ODD SQUAD'') is a children's live action educational comedy television series created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman. The series premiered on TVOKids in Canada and PBS Kids in the United States on November 26, 2014 ...

''; she won a 2019

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for her work on the series. Hoffman was a staff writer for ''

Workin' Moms ''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television comedy-drama sitcom series that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno Rinaldi Baroness Von Sketch Show ''Baroness von Sketch Show'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series. It debuted on CBC Television on June 14, 2016. Produced by Frantic Films, the series is an all-female comedy series starring Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Br ...

''. She was a staff writer on ''

''; after its cancellation, Hoffman starred in episodes of ''The Chris Gethard Show with Robby Hoffman'' on both MNN and ''Chris Gethard Presents,'' as well as taking the show live to the Montreal Just For Laughs festival. She hosted ''Robby Hoffman Consulting Group'' (formerly ''Dykevice''), a live call-in advice show on Gethard's comedy network '' Planet Scum Live''. In 2021 it was announced that ''Rivkah'', an autobiographical comedy series created by and starring Hoffman, is in development with

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 w ...

and

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

Personal life

Hoffman is queer. According to her, her family was supportive when she came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, and she is close with them. In August 2023, Hoffman announced that she is dating ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

'' alum

Gabby Windey Gabriela Maria Windey is an American television personality who appeared on season 26 of '' The Bachelor'', and co-starred in season 19 of ''The Bachelorette'' alongside Rachel Recchia. In 2022, Windey placed second on season 31 of ''Dancing ...

. Hoffman and Windey were married in January 2025.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Robby Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian Jews 21st-century Canadian women American comedy writers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American stand-up comedians American women comedians American women television writers American television writers Canadian comedy writers Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian women comedians Canadian women television writers Canadian television writers Comedians from Brooklyn Comedians from Montreal Daytime Emmy Award winners Jewish American comedians Jewish Canadian comedians Lesbian comedians Lesbian Jews McGill University alumni Canadian LGBTQ comedians American LGBTQ comedians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 1989 births