Introduction
Ashley Nicole Black (born June 15, 1985) is an American comedian, actress, and writer from Los Angeles, California. In 2016, she became a writer and correspondent for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. She left the show in February 2019 to write and act in A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO.
Early life
Black was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Walnut, California, a suburb of said city.
Black graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2007 with a degree in theatre arts. She then attended Northwestern University, where she earned a master's degree in performance studies. Black was four years into a PhD program at Northwestern University when she decided to drop out and pursue her dream of working in comedy.
Career
Black's comedy career began at the Second City, where she first attended an improv class that her parents paid for her to attend.
Black earned an Emmy for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special in 2017 for her work as one of the writers on Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner special for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
Overall, Black has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and correspondent on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, once in 2016 and twice in 2017.
In addition to her work on Full Frontal, Black has also appeared on Comedy Central's Drunk History and in the 2014 film An American Education.
Her last episode on Full Frontal was on February 13, 2019.
In 2019, Black joined other WGA writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the unfair practice of packaging.