Vanessa Bayer

Vanessa Bayer (birthname: Vanessa Polster Bayer) became a household name in comedy as a long-running member of the cast of Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2017. Her first significant film role came halfway through her SNL stint, in a voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013), with Steve Carell and fellow SNL cast member Kristin Wiig. Bayer joined another SNL cast mate, Bill Hader, with writer-star Amy Schumer and director Judd Apatow for Trainwreck (2015).

She was part of the ensemble of Susan Johnson’s comedy-drama, Carrie Philby, with Nathan Lane and Gabriel Bryne, and then the ensemble of Will Speck’s and Josh Gordon’s comic hit ($114 worldwide gross) from Paramount, Office Christmas Party (2016), with Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, and Olivia Munn. Bayer joined Jack Black for the true-life Netflix comedy, The Polka King (2018), and in the same year, joined producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay for her first role as a star– Alex Richanbach’s rom-com, Ibiza, with Gillian Jacobs and Phoebe Robinson, also released on Netflix.

Tara Miele’s Wander Darkly (2020), with Sienna Miller and Diego Luna, was the third Sundance premiere featuring Bayer and her first dramatic feature. Bayer reunited with Wiig for the acclaimed comedy (co-written by Wiig), Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar (2021). In 2022, Bayer took her second voice role in an animated feature with DC League of Super-Pets, with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.