Janelle James (born September 23, 1979)^[4][5] is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her role asAva Coleman in theABC television seriesAbbott Elementary, for which she won aScreen Actors Guild Award and anNAACP Image Award, in addition to nominations for fourPrimetime Emmy Awards, and aGolden Globe Award.

Her writing credits includeThe Rundown with Robin Thede andBlack Monday, and she acted on the programsCrashing,Corporate, andCentral Park. Her debut comedy albumBlack and Mild was released in 2017. She was named one ofVariety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2020.^[6]

James was born and raised onSt. Thomas in theVirgin Islands.^[1][7] Her father had a food truck, and starting at age 7, she helped out by selling beers on the beach to tourists.^[1] At age 16, she and her mother moved to New York.^[1][8] While in high school, she once stood in line for 12 hours to audition forMTV'sWanna Be a VJ.^[1]

After high school, she enrolled at theFashion Institute of Technology, but left after a few years.^[1]

James began her career in 2009 at an open mic she attended while living inChampaign, Illinois.^[9][10] She described her style of comedy as "just talking shit"^[9] and her stand-up includes a range of topics such as theTrump administration, motherhood, being a woman over 35, and dating.^[11] James namedBill Burr, Hadiyah Robinson,John Early,Wanda Sykes,Richard Pryor, and Kareem Green as favorite comedians.^[12][13]

In 2016, James' work was recognized byJust for Laughs andBrooklyn magazine.^[12] She gained wider prominence as the opening act forChris Rock's 2017 Total Blackout tour.^[9] That year, she released her debut comedy album,Black and Mild.^[9] The show was recorded at Acme Comedy Company inMinneapolis.^[10]

She performed onNetflix's 2018 comedy seriesThe Comedy Lineup.^[9] She was also slated to perform at the network's inaugural Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival based in Los Angeles in 2020.^[14]

James was a staff writer forThe Rundown with Robin Thede (2017) and theShowtime comedyBlack Monday, and also acted in a recurring role on the show.^[15][16] She has also appeared on the showsCrashing,Corporate, and is both a writer and voice actor forCentral Park.^[16] She was a featured comic on Netflix'sThe Standups in 2021.^[17]

She gained wide prominence in her role as a main cast member on theABC comedyAbbott Elementary.^[11][18] Her performance as the self-involved principal Ava Coleman has been hailed by critics.^[19][20][21] James garnered award nominations including a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics' Choice Award.^{[22][23][24][25]}

In 2022, James hosted the ABC game showThe Final Straw.^[26] She hosted the 2023Writers Guild of America Awards.^[27]

In 2019, she hostedStrong Black Laughs, an interview podcast featuring a variety of established Black comedians, includingLuenell andSherri Shepherd.^[28] She hostedYou In Danger, Gurl, a comedy podcast about relationshipred flags and bizarre dating experiences, in 2020.^[29]

After college, James married a teacher, with whom she had two sons.^[1] They split while living inChampaign, Illinois.^[1] For many years she was based inBrooklyn, New York, but moved to Los Angeles in 2022 after the success ofAbbott Elementary's first season.^[9][12]

• 2017:Black and Mild^[30]

• 2016 –Brooklyn's 50 Funniest People^[12]
• 2016 –Just for Laughs New Faces^[34]
• 2020 –Variety's 10 Comics to Watch^[6]

• Official website
• Janelle James atIMDb 

• Living people
• 1979 births
• Fashion Institute of Technology alumni
• American women comedians
• American women screenwriters
• 21st-century American actresses
• Comedians from Brooklyn
• American women podcasters
• American comedy podcasters
• American stand-up comedians
• African-American female comedians
• African-American comedians
• 21st-century African-American women
• 21st-century African-American people
• American people of United States Virgin Islands descent
• American people of Caribbean descent
• Actresses from Brooklyn
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• American voice actresses

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2023
• Use American English from February 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Articles with hCards